Renegades One-Shots
by PrincessRenegade
Summary: Just some one-shots of the Renegades trilogy characters. I mainly wrote this because i didn't think there was enough following a massive book hangover/depression after Arch Enemies. All rights go to Marissa Meyer, I just own the plots.
1. Intro (Not a One-Shot)

You can skip this part if you want, but I wouldn't recommend it.

So, I'm back! I know that my profile has been inactive for awhile, but that's because I have a very busy life. I am entering my junior year of college very soon, on August 26, and I am a full time student, plus a part time job, sleep, and trying to maintain a social life, and I just don't have much time for reading or writing anymore.

However, since it's summer, I just recently finished reading Marissa Meyer's Arch Enemies. I finished Renegades a year prior. Usually, I have the ability to finish a book within weeks (sometimes days) of the book coming out, but with college, it was impossible. If you go to college and managed to finish it in a timely manner, please tell me your secret.

Plus, unless the book is really good, reading starts to feel like a chore because college text is, while sometimes interesting, not exactly fun, and ruins things for leisure reading, too.

So, I know I shouldn't be starting this, with some of my other stories half-finished (and I fully intend to finish and edit them after college), but I had to start this, because Arch Enemies was over and I cried because I have to wait until November to read the next one (if you take a quiz on her website, you can get an excerpt of Supernova, but brush up on your knowledge of her other books first). Renegades, the first book, was really good, but this book in particular made me feel feelings that I haven't felt in a long time and started to believe I would never feel that way again about any other book. Many nights, I stayed up to three in the morning, muttering "One more chapter" and one turned into three, or four, or five, and I only went to sleep once my eyes could no longer stay open.

I turned to fan fiction to ease my pain and was disappointed to find few stories, and even fewer stories of Nodrian (Nova x Adrian) and Osby (Oscar x Ruby). had a total of ten, and only two had any trace of Nodrian in them, and only one had some Osby. I haven't fully checked out wattpad's collection yet, but I'm sure it's not great.

So I decided to take it into my own hands. So that is why I am writing some now.

I'm going to stop rambling now.

Enjoy!


	2. Silent Thoughts (Nodrian)

This takes place after Arch Enemies. If you haven't read it yet, I would strongly advise against reading this. And I am sorry if this has been a spoiler for those who have not yet read Arch Enemies.

Adrian stared at the rubble of the quarantine that once held his brother. He had no tears left to cry. He felt empty, scared, and worried, and his sketches have struggled because of it.

A few feet away stood Nova, wondering whether it would be ok to approach him.

He looked so sad, sitting there on the bench, and Nova tried to not care. She really did.

Finally, she sucked in a breath and approached the bench. When he made no movement, she decided to sit.

Neither one said a word, but sat in a comfortable silence.

Thoughts raced through his head. Will Max be ok? What are his dads going to do when they try to rebuild this? How long will Max be in a coma.

And thoughts raced through her head. Will Max be ok? Does Adrian suspect anything? Will I be able to free Uncle Ace?

"My dads keep telling me Max will be ok. I know they're lying to me so I won't worry," Adrian finally said, so quiet that Nova could hardly hear him.

"The universe has a way of righting itself, Adrian. Things usually happen for a reason." Nova knew it was weak, but she cared for Max, too, and she was upset, too.

"You don't have to be strong, Nova. I know you cared about him, too." Adrian said.

Nova was shocked. It was like he read her mind.

Nova would not cry. Nobody sees her cry, but maybe she could let her guard down, just this once, because Adrian really did know her, or at least, the part of her that she showed.

She shifted a bit so that she and Adrian were hugging.

"It's ok, Adrian. We'll get through this. I know it," Nova said.

For a minute, she felt sad that Adrian would never know the truth, that she was Nightmare, and she wasn't trying to kill Max. On the contrary, she was trying to help him. But when Adrian would find out she was Nightmare would be when the Anarchists overthrow the Renegades and fix up society their way. Adrian would stop loving her. She and him would be enemies again. He would hate her guts, and she wouldn't blame him. He would never see her side of the story...

Nova silenced those thoughts. All that mattered right now was Adrian.

Adrian and Max.

Adrian and Max and Nova.

Nothing else.


	3. Asking You Out (Osby)

Ruby and Oscar, though not as awesome as Nova and Adrian, are still an adorable couple and deserve some love, so here goes!

Oscar knocked o the door of his crush's house, a bouquet of red flowers and a suit on. He had Adrian make him a red bow tie and was good to go.

Mostly. He just had to get Ruby first.

This impromptu date was the result of a joke.

Adrian joked that if Ruby made him so nervous, then to have a date right away so he wouldn't have time to be nervous.

Oscar thought it was a good idea at the time, but was starting to question the logic.

What if Ruby was hanging out with Danna?

Well, actually, Danna's still in swarm form, but maybe Ruby has to look after her little brothers, of maybe they're having a family dinner, or maybe she's busy.

What if she has another date?

Before he could turn away, Ruby opened the door.

"Ruby?" Oscar asked.

"Sterling said you were at the door like a stalker, so I thought I'd see what you were doing out here," She said. She looked Oscar up and down.

"What are you doing at my door in a suit with flowers?" She asked.

"I think you know," He said, gulping and thrusting the flowers in her face.

"Um, thanks, but you could have just handed them to me," She said, grabbing the bottom of the bouquet. Her mother took them to put in a vase.

"Do you want to go out? With me?"

She blinked.

"Right now?"

He timidly nodded.

Ruby looked a little shocked, but finally smiled and nodded.

"I would love to, Oscar. Just let me get ready," She said. She started to walk away.

She opened the door again.

"You can come in, Oscar," She said.

"Oh, right!" He said, laughing awkwardly and stepping into the house.

"Hello, Oscar," Ruby's mom said.

"Hi, Mrs. Tucker," Oscar replied.

"Are you afraid of us?" Jade asked.

"What?! No!" Oscar exclaimed.

"You were out there for a really long time. Staring at the door. You were starting to creep us out," Sterling added. "That's why Ruby decided to intervene and find out what's wrong."

"I'm not scared of you guys. I'm..."

He stopped. He probably shouldn't tell Ruby's brothers he was afraid of Ruby because they could tell her or use it as blackmail or do anything, really. They're preteen boys with way too much time on their hands.

Jade and Sterling waited for him to go on, but when he didn't, they shrugged and started up a new round of video games.

A few minutes after, Ruby emerged.

She looked breathtaking.

She had fishtail braided her hair, so the black and white overlapped and added a nice contrast. She wore a red dress that went down to her knees and black tights. Her makeup was minimal, with just mascara and a touch of eye shadow and lipstick, but Oscar thought she looked stunning, with or without it.

"Where are we going?" She asked, throwing her white purse over her shoulder .

"I was thinking a nice dinner? And then stargazing?"

"Sounds great," She replied, following Oscar out of the house.

To Be Continued...


	4. Perfect First Date (Osby)

This is a continuation of the last one-shot. 

Nor Oscar or Ruby had a form of transportation, but most places in Gatlon were within a walking distance.

"Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"How long was I really standing out there?" He asked.

"About twenty minutes. My mom was starting to worry about you. She thought you were sick or something," Ruby replied.

Well, so much for not making a fool out of himself.

"What took you so long?" She asked.

"So long to what?" Oscar replied, confused.

"Ask me out! I would have done it myself but I wanted to see you squirm," Ruby explained, laughing.

He playfully elbowed her.

"Well, Adrian said I should ask you on a random date. Gives me less time to overthink things," Oscar said. "I was just beginning to think it was a bad idea and go back home when you opened the door."

"I think it's kind of cute that I make you so nervous," Ruby said.

"It's that obvious?" Oscar asked.

"It's so obvious, Oscar, to the point where I knew you liked me. Usually everyone knows but the couple involved. But I knew," Ruby replied.

"I just get so nervous around you. You're cool, funny, kick ass, fierce... You're just so intimidating, especially to awkward guys like me."

"You don't have to be afraid of me. I'm not going to make fun of you or anything. Even if things turn bad, I'm still your friend, and we'll always have that, whether you like it or not."

Oscar looked at Ruby, who was smiling. He smiled, too.

Oscar had noticed that they were getting closer to their destination, a fancy french restaurant where Oscar's mom knew the owner, so they get discounts.

About 100 feet later, Oscar stopped at the door.

"Oscar, isn't this place super expensive?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, well, the owner is a family friend, so we get a small discount," Oscar replied.

"Wow," Ruby said. The place was fairly new, the building made of gleaming marble.

Oscar opened the door for Ruby, and she walked in, staring at the interior, which was as pretty as the outside. The walls were beige and covered in fancy paintings of wine and flowers. Each table had a vase of lilies in the middle, and tea lights were floating in the middle of the vase. The lights were dimmed, and the general ambiance was very warm and inviting.

"Hey, Oscar!" A waiter exclaimed. He wore a button-down shirt and black slacks. Because the place was so fancy, the waiter's and waitress's uniforms had to be, as well.

Oscar waved.

"Let me get Lola. She can find a table for you," he said.

A few minutes they were seated in the waiter's section.

"That was David. He's the son of the family friend." Oscar explained to Ruby. "I might have mentioned I'd be coming here tonight with you."

"You must be Ruby! Oscar always talks about you. If I hadn't known better, I would believe you two were already an item!" David said.

Oscar blushed while Ruby laughed. "He was real subtle about it," She joked, which made Oscar blush harder. He silently willed the blush to stop. It didn't, of course.

"Can I start you off with drinks?" David asked.

"Can I have some tea?" Ruby asked. David wrote down her order and then turned to Oscar. "Oh, just water, I think." (A/N: I'm pretty sure they're not over 21)

David left to get their drinks.

Ruby had a smug smile on her face.

"Don't give me that look," Oscar groaned.

"Oscar, everybody knew! I bet even other teams knew! You made it so obvious!" Ruby said, and it seemed like she couldn't control her laughter.

"You should be flattered that you make me so nervous," Oscar said. "It means that you're really special. More special than those girls who throw themselves at me. Sometimes they ask me on dates, and I always say no, because i know who I want."

This time, Ruby blushed.

"Stop being so touchy-feely. It's making me uncomfortable," Ruby said.

Oscar knew she secretly loved hearing that.

Their drinks came, and then they ordered food. Since they already knew each other, they just spent the time recalling funny moments that happened on patrols, like when Adrian was staring at Nova so much that he actually tripped over a rock on the sidewalk, or when Nova stuck up behind Danna, which caused her to jump, and she accidentally went into swarm mode as a defense mechanism.

Soon, they finished their dinner. Time flies when you're having fun, after all.

But the other staff (not David, he's too nice), were staring to give them looks. The place did have a waitlist, and they were taking up a table they could be cleaning right now.

"I think that hostess just rolled her eyes at me," Ruby said.

"It's looked down upon to stay this long after the meal has ended. Let's go do some stargazing, like I promised."

They left the restaurant and made the short trek to the park.

The park was empty except for a few high teenagers and overly-active dog moms.

Oscar and Ruby found a secluded spot in a grass field and laid down on their backs.

"It's so beautiful," Ruby sighed, looking at the glittering stars.

"Not as..."

"If you say what I think you will, I will punch you," Ruby warned.

"I was gonna say not as beautiful as cake!" Oscar exclaimed.

Ruby laughed, and it was music to Oscar's ears.

"Ruby?" He asked.

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad that in a world of hundreds and thousands of stars, I met you," Oscar said, blushing. He was glad it was too dark for Ruby to see.

"Same goes for you. I could spend years dating other people, and none of them would be right for me. It's only you," She said. "I'm glad fate brought us together."

Oscar finally summoned the courage to hold her hand.

"It's nice being together when we're not in mortal danger," He pointed out.

"Yeah. And this time, we're not trapped in some creepy coffin." She added.

They stayed there for about an hour, showing each other constellations and talking about other planets (and also debating on whether Pluto should still be considered a planet).

But finally, it simply got too late where even the high teenagers stopped wandering around and went home.

Oscar escorted Ruby to her house. None of the lights were on. Oscar figured that her other family members were asleep.

"Oscar, this date was a perfect first date," She said, and kissed his cheek before she walked inside.

Oscar once again blushed and his cheeks remained red until he got home.

Oh my gosh, I'm so proud of this one! The fluff is definitely there. Just an FYI, I probably won't be able to update every day, but I will try to do once a week or once every other week. School is starting soon, though, so who knows when I'll find time. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this one as much as I enjoyed writing it!


	5. I'm Sorry (Nodrian, but not really)

Nova looked at the glass jar with guilt. Danna's monarch was fluttering around, becoming restless.

"I'm sorry," Nova said. "I really am. But I'm so close. You'd understand if you were me."

The butterfly landed upside down on the lid.

"What are you doing?" Honey asked, coming in to fix her hair.

"Um, mocking Danna," Nova lied.

"Serves her right for being a renegade," Honey said, adding a bobby pin here and there.

"They're not evil, Honey. Just misguided. They don't understand that anarchists are just trying to make people more independent,"

"Are you seriously sympathizing with them? I thought you were better than this, Insomnia," She teased. Hearing Honey say "Insomnia" instead of "Nightmare" felt a little like a slap in the face.

"I'm just saying , Nova, they had choices." Honey left, and Nova sighed.

Outside, Adrian was following a swarm of monarch butterflies.

One of Danna's butterflies had been flying by a day earlier and saw one of it's kind trapped in the jar. The butterfly assumed it was the last butterfly needed to change Danna back.

"This is Nova's house," He said, and then remembered that Danna couldn't hear him in swarm mode.

The butterflies flew up to the window, and then down to Adrian.

"So, you think Nova knows where the butterfly is? I mean, I don't think so but I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask."

He was about to knock on the door when the butterflies stopped him.

Then, they formed in a ladder formation.

"Wait, sneak in through the window? No, that's stupid," He said, about to knock again.

The butterflies stopped him again.

"Ok, fine! But it Nova's uncle gets mad at me, I'm blaming it on you."

He drew a ladder out of the paneling and pulled it out, making it real and tangible.

He climbed up. He noticed Nova, whose back was turned to him.

He then saw Danna's butterfly fluttering inside it's glass prison.

It kind of reminded him of Max.

His heart broke and he opened the window.

Nova turned around when she heard it, and before she could do anything, Adrian ran across the room and took the lid off of the jar.

Monarch's swarm joined together and there stood Danna.

"Nova, what is the meaning of this?" Adrian asked.

"Adrian, how..."

"I followed the butterflies," He said, just as Honey came in.

"Nova! What happened?!"

"Wait... Are you Nightmare? Was it you all along?" Adrian asked.

"Nova, put him them to sleep," Honey commanded.

Nova wanted to, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Nova!" Honey barked. Danna said nothing as she handcuffed Honey.

"We're bringing you to the council," Danna said as Adrian handcuffed Nova.

"I'm sorry," Nova said. "I'm so sorry."

Adrian just turned away and called for backup, since Leroy was still downstairs.

"I can't believe you lied to us like that," Danna said. " Looks like I was right to be suspicious."

Nova hung her head in shame. Not only did she let down her Uncle Ace, but she let down Adrian, too. He was perhaps the only one who loved her all this time. The anarchists were never really her family. They just used her to push their agenda.

Captain Chromium and the Dread Warden arrived soon after, and captured Leroy.

All three anarchists were put into prison and awaiting trial.

Adrian wanted to visit Nova. He really did, to get her side of the story, but he never did.

He never saw her again.

Please read the following paragraph...

Ok, this was definitely not romantic, and I apologize. It was supposed to be and then took a dark turn. But honestly, I kind of find the one-shots where she reveals herself and her and Adrian go on to live happily ever after kind of unrealistic. How would you feel if you found out the person you loved was lying and cheating all this time? You wouldn't just forgive and forget, would you? So, anyway, here is a depressing one-shot. Also, you might keep getting the sad one-shots unless you have prompts to request because I literally have no ideas and kind of write how I am feeling and I've been feeling sad lately, mostly because Supernova doesn't come out until November. SO PLEASE COMMENT REQUESTS! I NEED IDEAS!


	6. Adventures in Baking (Osby)

Short Author's Note: If you haven't read the sneak peek of Supernova yet (you totally should), there is a part, and this is NOT a spoiler in any way, Oscar makes Ruby's favorite cookies. He offers it to the whole team, but we all knew it was for Ruby because he went so far as ASK RUBY'S MOM FOR THE RECIPE! That, my friends, it dedication. Anyway, something tells me that Oscar had a few trials before he got to the final batch, which were still a little rough, since the edges were burnt and the insides were gooey, so I thought I'd write about his experience making the cookies. I had to use a guide for the recipe since I have never baked these specific cookies.

Without further adieu...

"First, I need to gather the ingredients. I can mix them together later."

"Ok, so Ruby's mom said... two sticks of salted butter. Do we even... Nope. Just unsalted. I'm not sure if unsalted is ok... but I really don't want to mess this up. They're for Ruby... Mom! MOM!"

No answer.

"Oh, that's right! She's at a meeting..." Oscar said.

He grabbed two sticks of unsalted butter. "Why does my mom have to be on a low salt diet," Oscar cried.

"I guess I'll just add table salt to it, then."

He shook the pig shaped salt shaker once.

"Doesn't look like enough... I'll just add a few more shakes..."

After eight shakes, he was satisfied.

"Ok, next, granulated sugar. Ok, she said powdered sugar works, too."

Oscar rummaged through the pantry.

"These aren't labeled..."

"Well, this looks like powdered sugar, right?"

It was flour.

It. Was. Flour.

The labels were on the bottom of the containers they were held in, where Oscar did not see them.

"So, one third of a cup. Ok, easy enough."

Oscar got out a drinking glass and filled it one-third with flour, that he thought was sugar.

"Ruby's going to love these," Oscar said, getting the lemons he bought earlier that week out of the refrigerator.

He quickly used a cheese grater on the rind to make lemon zest. He measured out the appropriate amount.

"Almond extract... I really should have gone over the ingredients list before I went shopping. Mom has the car, so I can't leave... Oh, cool, we have real almonds. The only thing better than almond extract is actual almonds!"

Not when you're baking, Oscar.

He pounded the almonds with a cup and then put them in a bowl.

"Ok, next, we have vanilla. Well, I know we have vanilla," Oscar said.

He shuffled some things in his pantry around and grabbed the vanilla extract, measuring it out and pouring it in the same bowl as the almonds.

"One fourth teaspoon of salt." Oscar said, measuring out more salt. "I hope this doesn't affect the unsalted butter in a bad way."

"Shredded coconut. Now that wasn't my fault. The store didn't carry it." Oscar said, grabbing some coconut oil. "I hope this will work."

"Ok, two cups of flour," Oscar said.

"This looks like flour," He said, grabbing the container of baking soda.

"Ok, now, I can start the actual mixing. Cream butter and sugar. But the recipe doesn't call for cream. Maybe Ruby's mom forgot that ingredient," Oscar said, getting some coffee cream out of the fridge.

"Luckily, my coffee-addict mom always has some in the fridge."

He put it on the counter.

"The question is how much..." He said.

He shrugged and poured some in the bowl.

"I'm sure it doesn't matter."

Oh, Oscar.

He mixed the substances.

"Ok, now we add the lemon zest, almonds, vanilla, and salt. Then, we mix in the flour and coconut, a half a cup at a time."

Oscar carefully poured in the flour and coconut oil, slowly and only a bit at a time.

He ended up with a creamy mixture.

"You'd think it'd be thicker than this. Did I do something wrong?"

He put his finger in the mixture.

"Well, as long as it tastes good," He said, licking his finger.

"Ack! This is terrible! So salty! So... Bland! Mom!"

"Oh, crap, that's right. Still not home."

He looked over the ingredients again, shaking his head.

He got his phone out, and dialed Ruby's mom's number.

"Hey, Mrs. Tucker, um, it's Oscar. Is unsalted butter ok for the cookies?"

So, I had a lot of fun writing this. I'm a better cook than a baker but I still know baking terminology. Most non-bakers don't, though. I'm not trying to say Oscar is stupid, because he's not. He's just not an experienced baker. I thought it would be fun writing about his first time trying to bake, so here it is. I tried to make it as funny as I could and I think it turned out alright.


	7. Movie Night (Osby)

I swear i haven't forgotten about this, but I actually pull these from my wattpad account and honestly publishing things on is a hassle so I've been avoiding it, but I just realized that I got a lot of feedback and seriously, you guys deserve better and I should probably let you know that I didn't drop off the face of the planet.

Anyway here is some Osby. This is one of my favorites!

Oscar and Ruby walked side-by-side into the movie rental store.

"We should have just streamed something, Oscar. It's not 2019 anymore."

"People did stream stuff in 2019, so there."

"You basically just proved my point."

"What point?"

"That renting movies is outdated," Ruby replied.

Oscar's eye widened and he patted one of the walls.

"It's ok, Movies Deluxe, she didn't mean it."

"Did you just comfort the building?"

"Your comment was rude and I could feel it's self-esteem going down," Oscar replied.

"You're a dork," Ruby said.

"I know. That's why you love me," Oscar replied.

"What kind of movie should we watch?" Ruby asked.

"A romantic comedy. Obviously."

"I hate rom-coms. Let's do action. Or horror. Or a psychological thriller!"

Oscar knew he had to stop this, because even though he was an actual superhero, horror films still scared the pants off him.

He would much rather cuddle on the couch watching a cute romantic comedy where nothing even remotely scary happens.

But he didn't want to seem like a coward in front of his almost girlfriend.

He asked er twice already, and both times she said no to being his girlfriend, but she would say yes tonight. He just knew it.

"But romantic comedies will allow us to cuddle," Oscar said.

"No, I want to watch that new Halloween one. Look, it's right here!"

All Oscar could see was an outline of a person with thick red blood covering the whole cover artwork.

"No, let's go with this one! It's new, too!"

"Oscar, I told you, I don't like romantic comedies. They're boring and predictable."

"Well, scary movies are predictable, too."

"Not all of them," Ruby reasoned. "But if you're so against scary movies, let's pick an action movie. Look, here's a classic! John Wick!"

His mom watched that movie once and he saw a lot of gore on his way to the kitchen when he was getting snacks during a Harry Potter marathon he was watching in his own room.

"I've seen that," He lied. "What about the Harry Potter movies? Those have action. And some romance. In the last movie, at least."

"Danna made me promise not to finish the series without her," Ruby replied. "We stopped at Prisoner of Azkaban."

"Oh," Oscar said.

"Ok, so maybe action movies aren't your jam. But there's thrillers," Ruby said.

'Ruby, please," Oscar pleaded.

"Please what?"  
'Let's watch a romantic comedy!"

"No! Oscar, I don't want to watch a romantic comedy! They're stupid and pointless!"

"But Who Gets the Dog is so good! And it's about dogs!"

"I prefer cats," Ruby replied.

"What?" Oscar asked.

"Yeah. Cats are smarter," Ruby replied.

"Excuse me but collies and poodles are very smart," Oscar argued.

"Cats don't bark at their reflection."

"Because cats don't bark," Oscar pointed out.

"You know what I mean," Ruby snapped. "And don't think for a minute that I am going to give in because you're a man. I don't want rom-coms."

"Fine. Then I guess no movie for us," Oscar replied.

"Oh, really? Fine, then," Ruby said, walking out of the store.

After one moment, Oscar gasped in horror, realizing what he had done.

She'll never agree to be in a relationship with him after this!

He grabbed the movie she wanted to see, threw some money on the counter, and bolted out of the door, promising to bring it back tomorrow.

They let him because he was a loyal customer.

He would be back.

He always comes back.

And that stood true for Ruby, too.

"Ruby!" He screamed.

She was halfway across the parking lot.

"Oscar, if this is about dogs..."

"No! Ruby, I think I love you. Let's not have a movie ruin things. Look," He said, holding up the movie.

"You... You'll agree to watch it?"

"Of course! I'll do anything for you," He said.

Ruby looked at him for a few seconds.

Then, she saw a monarch butterfly land on his shoulder.

And then another.

And another.

"Danna seems to think I should forgive you," Ruby said.

He smiled at her.

"I only wanted to watch a scary movie so you'd cuddle up with me," Ruby said. "I'm not stupid and I know scary movies still scare you, regardless of you being a superhero."

"I wanted to watch rom-coms because we can still cuddle and not be scared," Oscar replied.

"How about this?" Ruby asked. "We watch a scary movie, and we stream a romantic comedy after it's over?"

"Perfect," Oscar said.

Ruby smiled and they began to walk to Oscar's house.

While they walked, they saw Adrian and Nova.

"No, no, but dogs are so hyper," Adrian said.

"But cats are so low-maintenance," Nova argued.

"That's discussion isn't closed for us, you know," Oscar said. "I will make you like dogs."

"In your dreams, Romeo."

As the main character in the scary movie walked around, looking for his next kill, Oscar was squeezed up against Ruby, clutching her hand. She was completely engrossed.

As murder and screams graced the TV, Oscar locked eyes with Ruby.

"I know this isn't really a fitting mood, but will you be my girlfriend?"

Ruby laughed, like really laughed.

"Of course I will, you dork."

She finally said yes.

I'm so proud of this one. It's so cute.

Anyway, thank you to all who have voted and continue to vote for this story.

And thank you, again, Irislight716, for voting and commenting. Your comments made me laugh! :)

But please, continue to suggest prompts. This one was very fun to write, especially because I was given an idea and knew what someone wanted.

And I hope you like it.

Thanks for reading!


	8. My Happy Ending (Anti-Nodrian, Spoilers)

This is a song-fic, so if you don't like these, then feel free to skip. I don't like most song-fics either, but this one seemed fitting.

I used to listen to this song quite a bit when I was a pre-teen and I like to listen to late 90s and early 2000s music, since that is my generation, I heard this song come on and I was like, this reminds me so much of Nodrian, or at least them in the middle of Supernova.

I hope you agree.

Full disclosure, it will be sad.

_So much for my happy ending  
So much for my happy ending_

Adrian repeated the words in his words like a mantra.

She's a villain.

She's a villain.

She's a freaking villain.

But then those words were soon replaced with:

So much for my happy ending.

So much for my happy ending.  
_  
Let's talk this over  
It's not like we're dead  
Was it something I did?  
Was it something you said?_

He wanted so bad to talk to her.

Just to hear her.

Did he want a confession? Or did he just want to hear her voice?

He didn't know anymore.

She wasn't dead, yet, and she may not die.

But it felt like she was. She was so far away.

Everything she said in that cold, dark room happened while she cried.

And Adrian found it hard not to cry himself.

But she was a villain.

She deserved to be locked up, right?

_Don't leave me hanging  
In a city so dead  
Held up so high  
On such a breakable thread_

Gatlon City was alive and well, but for Adrian, without his love, I felt dead. His whole being felt dead.

It seems like his sanity was hanging on by a thread and any day now, it would break, just like his heart.

He wondered if Nova felt the same, but soon shook his head. She didn't love him. It was all a sick ruse. A trick.

_You were all the things I thought I knew  
And I thought we could be_

He thought she was a renegade, a die-hard renegade. She was so brave and she seemed to selfless.

But she was lying the entire time.

Before all of this, Adrian was getting used to the fact that he met his soulmate. She was the woman he would spent his life with.

All of those dreams disappeared in front of his very eyes the moment Danna said "Nova is Nightmare."

_You were everything, everything that I wanted  
We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it  
All of the memories, so close to me, just fade away  
All this time you were pretending  
So much for my happy ending _

_So much for my happy ending_

Adrian always liked her, ever since she defeated Genissa Clark's whole team. She was beautiful, fierce, and a great fighter.

No wonder, though Adrian. She was sure the anarchists prepared her well for her role as a spy.

Not only did the renegades lose a valuable asset that day, Adrian lost his love.

He remembered all the times they touched and how he would feel sparks, and every time he saw her face, it felt like the first time and all he wanted to do was take her in her arms and kiss her like he never had before.

He still wanted to.

But she didn't feel the same. She was pretending to love Adrian. She said it was real, but Adrian knew better than to trust an anarchist. She was probably just waiting for him to let his guard down.

Adrian was starting to accept that he may never love again.

So much for his happy ending.

_You've got your dumb friends  
I know what they say  
They tell you I'm difficult  
But so are they_

Adrian wanted to go to her and ask how she could... How she could befriend murderers.

They're so anti-renegade.

But I guess that makes sense. The renegades were the ones that ruined anarchy.

_But they don't know me  
Do they even know you?  
All the things you hide from me  
All the shit that you do_

It was clear he didn't know Nova as well as he thought.

And she knew him better than anyone.

At this point, Adrian didn't know anymore. She knew a lot about him, but she still didn't know about the Sentinel. Therefore, maybe she didn't know him. Maybe he still had one secret from her.

Adrian couldn't believe that she had been hiding this. She managed to fool them all. He felt so stupid.

_You were all the things I thought I knew  
And I thought we could be_

Adrian really thought that when she got old enough, he would end up marrying her. He planned out the proposal in his head.

And in one day, all of that was... Poof! Gone.

_You were everything, everything that I wanted  
We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it  
All of the memories, so close to me, just fade away  
All this time you were pretending  
So much for my happy ending_

Adrian was sure she was his soulmate.

She made it seem so real.

_It's nice to know that you were there  
Thanks for acting like you cared  
And making me feel like I was the only one  
It's nice to know we had it all  
Thanks for watching as I fall  
And letting me know we were done_

She was a good actress. It was only just an act. A façade.

She acted like she loved him. Like she cared about him.

He was so sure that, even with all the Up-and-coming Renegade hotshots, he was the only one she ever had eyes for.

He stomped around the basement, screaming in pain, crying out, hoping for somebody to pick up the pieces of his broken heart.

_(S)He was everything, everything that I wanted  
We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it  
All of the memories, so close to me, just fade away  
All this time you were pretending  
So much for my happy ending_

_You were everything, everything that I wanted  
We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it  
All of the memories, so close to me, just fade away  
All this time you were pretending  
So much for my happy ending_

_So much for my happy ending  
So much for my happy ending _

Nova was the only person he wanted, and he had a feeling she would be the only thing he ever wanted.

He lost her.

He felt so alone and isolated, his heart still shattered into tiny pieces, like tiny glass shards. So delicate and painful, stabbing his insides with their tiny points.

He screamed into his pillow once more, and then sat up, getting out his pen and working on a new design, a tower to protect him.

And while he sketched, every so often, he would mutter "So much for my happy ending".

And, if you guys aren't crying yet (I am), I've included another song-fic!

This time, in Nova's point of view.

_I always needed time on my own  
I never thought I'd  
Need you there when I cry_

Nova sat on the floor. She didn't even deserve the thin piece of mattress she was given.

She was human garbage, after what she had done to Adrian, and she knew it.

Her face was red from crying, her nose runny, and her eyes pink.

She didn't want a box of tissues. She didn't want her uncle.

She wanted Adrian. She wanted to see him, she wanted to see his smile and know that he still cared about her, even though she had done something despicable.

_And the days feel like years when I'm alone  
And the bed where you lie  
Is made up on your side_

The days in this cell went by so slowly it might as well have been years.

The only thing that kept her company was recalling the feelings of his lips against hers.

But even that memory was starting to fade.

It's like her mind couldn't function when she wasn't around Adrian.

_When you walk away  
I count the steps that you take  
Do you see how much I need you right now? _

When Adrian visited her, she had actually counted the steps he took, hoping so bad that he would turn back. But he never did.

Nova knew that he didn't think that she loved him, but he was so wrong. Every ounce of her loved him more than he could even fathom.

And Nova knowing that and Adrian doubting her was a fate worse than death.

_When you're gone  
The pieces of my heart are missin' you  
When you're gone  
The face I came to know is missin', too  
When you're gone  
The words I need to hear  
To always get me through the day  
And make it okay  
I miss you_

Nova's heart has shattered into pieces. She wasn't whole and she feared she never would be.

Day after day, all she did was remember his face. Her worst dear was forgetting even one detail, because that could lead to her forgetting him.

_Did Adrian... Did he have dimples? _

Nova wondered, eyes brimming with tears, knowing that it was too late. She was going to forget, because she knew Adrian would never visit her again.

She yearned to hear his voice one more time. To hear his laugh. To laugh with him. She didn't think she'd ever get to do that again.

_I've never felt this way before  
Everything that I do  
Reminds me of you  
And the clothes you left, they lie on the floor  
And they smell just like you  
I love the things that you do_

Nova remembered how his basement looked. He had clothes strewn about.

Some girls might think he was untidy, but Nova liked it. It made the room smell like him. He had his own signature Adrian scent. Nova missed it so much.

She loved him so much. She still loves him. She will always love him.

_When you walk away  
I count the steps that you take  
Do you see how much I need you right now?_

_When you're gone  
The pieces of my heart are missin' you  
When you're gone  
The face I came to know is missin', too  
When you're gone  
The words I need to hear  
To always get me through the day  
And make it okay  
I miss you_

She couldn't think anymore, only feeling the pain of missing Adrian and losing him. She was almost looking forward to her execution. At least then the pain would stop.

Because Adrian is gone. He hates her and is disgusted by her and all she wants it see his face one more time. She misses him so damn much. Her heart is shattering and reforming only to shatter again, like a cruel, ruthless cycle of pain.

_We were made for each other  
Out here forever  
I know we were  
Yeah, yeah_

Nova knew for sure she just lost her soulmate. She was made for him, and he was made for him, but at the end of the day, they were star-crossed, like Romeo and Juliet, except in this version, only Juliet would die.

_And all I ever wanted was for you to know  
Everything I do, I give my heart and soul  
I can hardly breathe; I need to feel you here with me  
Yeah_

She began to sob, first, it was soft, but then the sobs got stronger. Her body wracked with sobs. She almost couldn't breathe. The pain was too strong.

_When you're gone  
The pieces of my heart are missin' you  
When you're gone  
The face I came to know is missin', too  
When you're gone  
The words I need to hear  
Will always get me through the day  
And make it okay  
I miss you_

She knew that if she heard his voice one more time, she would die happy. She missed him so much and she wanted nothing more than to hug him and kiss him, but even hearing his voice would be enough.

Hearing him say her name. Just one more time.

But she knew he wouldn't see her anymore.

And she didn't blame him.

She curled into a ball and memorized the sound of his laugh.

Her death couldn't come fast enough.

A/N: You got two for the price of one.

I'm sorry. I know they're sad. I cried a little bit when I write them, but I knew they both felt like this when Nova was taken to Cragmoor.

I know I said I wouldn't write within the week, but I actually wrote this when I was in the middle of the book and wanted to wait until I was done with Supernova in case it didn't make sense anymore.

However, I feel like it still does make sense. This is, obviously, before Nova was freed.

Anyway, as always, keep the requests coming!

Happy reading!


	9. The Christmas Spirit (Part One)

Dedicated to jacepurr88 for the awesome fan art!

Happy Holidays, Readers! This chapter was originally in one part, but I split it into two because it got too long. (To be fair, this was published at Christmastime on Wattpad)

So I thought I'd write a Christmas one-shot, or two-shot, rather, because I have been watching way too many cheesy Christmas romance movies and then I imagined Nova and Adrian snuggling on the couch with ugly Christmas sweaters and I knew I had to write about it.

If you don't celebrate Christmas, I'm sorry, but Christmas is the only thing I know. I'm not that educated on Hanukkah, Kwanza, etc. I hope I don't offend or upset you.

As always, feel free to skip this chapter

This takes place before Arch Enemies and Supernova, shortly after Nova joins the renegades.

I know the timelines don't add up, but this idea was way too cute to not write about, so i decided to ignore the timeline.

Anyway, on to the chapter. It's a long one.

Nova loved the holidays.

With her past trauma, it was kind of strange. In a season with so much emphasis on family, why was she so happy when she didn't really have one?

Nova used to not really care about holidays, but she started to like it after the Battle of Gatlon.

She didn't like the renegades, but she did love how they did Christmas.

They decorated the Renegades Headquarters liked nobody's business. They went all out, with inflatables, lights, even lights that matched tunes of famous Christmas songs.

Perhaps the thing Nova loved most was the annual Christmas Tree Decorating Ceremony.

They had a huge evergreen in the town square, it was decorated every year, with every citizen putting on one ornament and Nova never missed it, not even when she was supposed to be in hiding or with the anarchists. She always found a way to go.

It was her dream to someday be the one lucky person in the crowd to be picked to put the star atop the tree and press the power button to light it up.

Too bad they usually only exclusively pick little kids.

Adrian hated the holidays.

It doesn't seem like he'd be the Scrooge type, because he had a pretty good adopted family.

But all the emphasis on family usually only made him miss his mom more.

Not even the girl with the necklace of flashing lights at the grocery store could change his mind.

Neither could the boy sporting reindeer antlers at the information desk at headquarters.

Not even the jolly mall Santa could make him happy.

Although he did see Nova waiting in line to see Santa, and when he asked why, she said "Oh. I thought this was the checkout line" but made no movement to the actual checkout line. Knowing that Nova was secretly obsessed with Christmas made him a little happy. He thought it was funny and cute.

But even with Nova, he still didn't like Christmas. And there was nothing he hated more than the tree decorating ceremony. His dads made him attend since he was their son. But he hated it.

Nothing could prepare Adrian for a few days before Christmas, their last day before they were off for the holidays.

Nova came in with a huge shopping bag.

She wore leggings with white snowflakes with a baby blue background.

Her sweater was atrocious. It was just full of tinsel and Christmas bows and random puff balls and cutouts of reindeer and snowflakes. The background was green. It looked like a Christmas Tree threw up on it.

It was so random.

And so ugly.

"I have sweaters for everybody!" Nova exclaimed.

She handed one to Ruby.

It was black with red lining around the hems. The sleeves were striped with red and white, like a peppermint. On the middle was a Christmas tree with lights that said "Get Lit".

"I love it," Ruby said.

Oscar's fit his personality. It showed tacos wrapped in Christmas bows with avocados and chips in a pattern behind them.

It was ugly, but Nova's still won.

"It's beautiful," Oscar said, putting a hand over his heart.

She went to Danna next.

Danna's sweater had a Christmas tree with a butterfly with a Santa hat flying towards it. It wasn't as ugly as the others, but Danna loved her powers and she appreciated it. She even gave Nova a small smile, even though she wasn't Nova's biggest fan.

Lastly, she went to Adrian.

He took the garment from Nova, who was beaming at him as she presented the sweater to him.

Great skies, it was worse than hers.

It had green sleeves and a black background.

It depicted a Christmas tree with presents underneath.

But it had a hood.

And the hood had a star on the top. That was the worst part.

"I'm not wearing this," Adrian said.

Nova's face fell.

"But I got it for you. I thought you'd like it," Nova said.

"It's hideous, Nova. And no offense, but I hate Christmas."

Nova looked so hurt that Adrian instantly regretted his words.

But he was going to stand his ground. Not even a girl he liked could change his mind.

"I'm sorry, Nova," Adrian said, walking out of the room. While Nova wasn't looking, the other renegades had pulled the sweaters over their uniforms.

"Adrian has never liked Christmas," Oscar said.

"Yeah. It reminds him of his mom." Ruby added.

Nova picked up the sweater, which Adrian had dropped on the floor.

"I thought he would like it," She said.

"It's ok, Nova. We like ours," Oscar said, patting Nova's back comfortingly.

"Let's go talk to Adrian," Ruby said. "Maybe we can convince him..."

"I don't want to make him f he doesn't want to. I'll just hang on to the sweater in case he has a change of heart."

Ruby, Oscar, and Danna knew he wouldn't have a change of heart, but they decided not to tell Nova that. She was so hurt from his reaction and nobody wanted to make her sadder.

"Are you coming to the Christmas Decorating Ceremony?" Ruby asked as the group took a lunch break from practicing.

"I always go," Nova said, already a little happier. Adrian was sitting alone, a few tables away.

"My mom wants me to take my brothers this year so she can have a night to bake peacefully without my brothers asking to lick the bowl or spoons," Ruby said, chuckling. "I told her I'd be happy to go."

"Are you going, Oscar?" Nova asked.

"I wasn't going to, but mom has a work thing and now that Ruby's going... I mean, both of you are going, I might go." Oscar said, trying to cover up his slip-up. "I didn't mean to say Ruby, I want to see you, too, Nova, of course, It's just, I was looking at Ruby and..."

"I know, Oscar," Nova said, laughing.

Danna shrugged. "I might go. I dunno."

Nova looked at Adrian. She knew he would be there. He had to, since his dads were part of the council, and the council was in charge of such things.

"You're right. He'll be there," Ruby said, as if she just read Nova's thoughts.

She got up and sat next to him.

"Why don't you like Christmas?" She asked as he stared at his lunch tray, not eating anything except a carrot, of all things.

He pursed his lips.

"I know I come from a good family. Two good dads, well-off. It's just, the holidays is when I miss my mom the most. I know I have an adoptive family, but I still have some memories of my mom. And I miss her a lot. Especially around the holidays."

"I miss my family, too." Nova said, and then it occurred to her that she never told Adrian what happened to them.

"How..."

"What happened to them isn't important right now." Nova said. "But I love Christmas. Everyone is happy and the world seems at peace. Do you not see that?"

"I'm sorry. Nova. I can't see it the way you do," He said, getting up to throw his tray away.

Then, he left the room.

Nova sighed.

She saw a cherry flavored candy cane slide her way.

"You ok?" A girl asked, sitting down across from her.

She had dark brown hair and a kind smile. She wore a necklace with big Christmas lights, and they were slowly blinking on and off.

"Didn't I see you at the grocery store?" Nova asked.

She nodded. "I work there."

"Are you a prodigy?"

"No. I wish I was. Which is why I spend so much time here." The girl replied, looking around. "The council gave me permission to give candy canes to all the renegades in the building." She said. "Courtesy of my store. But I've been telling people they're from me. I do it every year."

She sighed. "But in all honesty, I couldn't afford this many candy canes." She gestured to a huge bag she had set down, right next to her, filled to the brim with candy cane packages.

Nova smiled. "I'll tell people it was all your idea. How many teams have you given them too so far?"

"Not very many. You looked particularly sad, so I chose you first. Of course, Sketch was a lot sadder, but he didn't accept my candy cane." She explained.

She got up. "I have more candy canes to pass out. But don't get discouraged. Miracles happen, Insomnia. Sometimes, people just need the right amount of time to find their inner Christmas Spirit. Keep working at it, and I'm sure he'll have a change of heart."

As she walked away, Nova said "Wait!"

The girl stopped and turned towards her.

"What's your name?"

"Kennedy Smith, renegade enthusiast," She said, smiling. She then walked towards the rest of Nova's team, handing them candy canes.

Though this Kennedy was seriously misguided in loving the renegades so much, she was right. Maybe Adrian just needed more time. Nova would keep showing him Christmas magic, and maybe he'll start to like Christmas.

Nova joined her team. 'Wanna trade? I don't like the purple ones," Danna said to Oscar. The candy canes she gave out were the fruit flavored kind, not the classic peppermint.

"Sorry, Danna, but red is my favorite." Oscar replied.

"Here, Danna," Nova said, handing Danna her red one.

"Thanks, Nova! You're the best," Danna said.

"I'm sure she would have given you a red one if you just asked," Ruby said, licking her orange candy cane.

"I didn't want to hurt her feelings," Danna said.

"Asking for a different flavored candy cane would have hurt her feelings?" Nova asked.

"Maybe," Danna replied.

Nova shrugged and unwrapped her candy cane.

"We're not supposed to accept gifts from our fans, but she's different, since it's the store that provides the candy canes. This is her third year doing it," Ruby said. "Poor thing wants to be a renegade so much."

"It really reminds us of how grateful we should be that we got powers. Because it's not something that everyone has." Danna said.

"Easy for you to say. I went through trauma to get mine," Oscar said. "You were born with yours."

"Hey, if that girl had to get traumatized in order to get powers, I'm sure she'd welcome it." Danna replied.

"We really are lucky. I just wish Adrian would realize that there's more to Christmas than family. There's friends, there's happiness, and most of all, gratefulness, especially since that old Thanksgiving tradition was done away with after the war."

"Why do you think they did away with that tradition?" Oscar asked. "I would have loved a holiday dedicated to eating."

"Well, I guess after the war, people didn't have a whole lot to be thankful for," Danna replied. It seemed like after that comment, the whole team got a little glummer.

"Hey! I didn't want blue!" Genissa screamed from the hallway. "Give me a red one!"

"No! I gave you a blue one to match your cold, dead heart!" Kennedy yelled back, running down the hallway, away from Genissa.

"Happens every year. And yet, she keeps coming back." Ruby said.

"Where do you think Adrian went?" Ruby asked when she got back to the practice room, where Adrian was nowhere to be found.

"I have an idea. I'll meet you guys back here in an hour," Nova said.

She slid out of the room and went to Max's quarantine.

And just like she guessed, there was Adrian, facing Max, who was looking at Adrian with concern etched on his face.

"Adrian?" Nova asked. Max looked over, relieved that now someone else was here to help him.

"He's sad. He gets sad around this time every year," Max said to Nova. "Kennedy gave him a red candy cane, and even that didn't cheer him up."

Nova's heart sank. He's not getting better, he's getting worse.

"Adrian, there must be some things you like about Christmas," Nova said.

"No, Nova. Stop bringing it up. I don't like Christmas, I don't like the holly, I don't like the jolly, and I especially hate the Christmas spirit!" Adrian exclaimed, losing his calm and collected exposure he usually had.

He walked away, muttering things like "holly" and "tree" under his breath.

Nova hung her head.

"I try so hard. He just doesn't want to see it my way. Ge could. He doesn't want to," Nova said. She stomped back to the practice room.

"That was way less than an hour," Oscar pointed out.

"Adrian went to see Max, but then I came along and he lost his temper and ran off. I didn't have anything else leaving me there," Nova said with a sigh.

"I guess he doesn't need time or the right person. He just doesn't like Christmas. Plain and simple." Nova added.

"I'm sure with time..." Ruby started.

"No. He won't. Everybody has been telling me that maybe Adrian's mood will improve after time, but I don't think it will this time. I'm done trying to cheer him up." Nova said. "Let him hate Christmas if he wants."

And at that, she decided to go home and spend Christmas Eve with the anarchists until the Tree Decorating Ceremony.

Ruby and Oscar exchanged looks, feeling terrible about Nova's rotten luck with turning Adrian around.

Danna, not being the biggest Nova fan, didn't really seem to be paying attention.

Í think we all should just go home," Ruby said. "I need to tell my brothers to get ready, anyway."

"Yeah, sounds like a good plan," Oscar said.

"Nova will be ok," Danna added. "I know I'm not a huge fan of her, but she's strong, and it's going to take more than Adrian's pessimism to bring her down."

With that, the team parted.

Nova knew she should stop thinking about it, but she couldn't.

She couldn't stand the thought of Adrian being sad around Christmas.

Ever her, an anarchist, a villain (in Renegade vocabulary, at least) loved Christmas. How could Adrian hate something so beautiful and meaningful?

Nov was brainstorming ways to make Adrian happy this Christmas.

Then, Nova thought of the perfect idea.

What did Adrian love?

His fans.

What did other people love?

The Tree Decorating Ceremony.

What if Nova gathered a bunch of Adrian's biggest fans and made a scrapbook about why they loved Adrian and why he deserves to be happy?

And, they could present it to him at the Tree Decorating Ceremony.

But that would mean...

Oh, great skies, Nova only had two hours to compile it.

Luckily, Nova knew the perfect group to help.

The Renegades Fan Club.

I know I already did a little note at the top, but I wanted to say something down here, too.

I know that making Nova love Christmas and making Adrian hate it was a bold move. But, I wanted to be unpredictable, and I'm sure a hundred other writers out there wrote about how much Adrian loved Christmas and how much Nova hated it, so I decided to flip the script.

But don't you worry, like most Christmas movies, this will have a happy ending.

Stay tuned for the next part, and please, comment and vote! :)


	10. The Christmas Spirit (Part Two)

Nova hated the Renegades Fan Club.

Usually.

She thought they were stupid and should not be wasting their time on the Renegades, of all groups.

What luck that the group's meeting happened to be on this day.

And guess who the leader was?

Yep, you got it. Kennedy Smith, Renegades enthusiast.

Since she was so nice to Nova earlier, then maybe the fan club wasn't as stupid as Nova originally thought.

"Nova Artino! An actual renegade, here to grace us with her presence!" Kennedy squealed. Nova gave a once-over to the group and saw that they were all wearing Ugly sweaters that were Renegades Related.

Kennedy's sweater had a fireplace with stockings with all the council member's names on them and the words "Renegades" spelled out with blocks on the mantle. Another girl had her favorite renegade's face on hers, with a few Christmas embellishments here and there. Another had Sketch's notebook with his hand drawing a Christmas tree. They were really creative.

The whole room, about twelve people, not including Nova, cheered as Nova stood there.

"As much as we love you Nova, this group is only for people who want to be renegades but don't have powers," Kennedy said, gesturing to herself and her group members.

She sighed "We're as normal as normal gets."

One group member actually started to cry at that. The members sitting closest to him patted his back comfortingly.

I'm not here because I want to join your club." Nova said. "What do you guys even do here... Actually, that's not important."

"I don't know if you guys know this, but Sketch hates Christmas..."

"Oh we know. We're renegades fans. We know a lot about each renegade, which is why Genissa Clark's nice façade isn't fooling us."

"Ok, so Sketch hates Christmas. And I'm trying to cheer him up. Sketch loves his fans. He loves being a renegade because of all the of the good he does, but you guys really keep him going. He loves your support and admiration."

Nova looked at the group and found they were all smiling.

"So I was wondering if..."

'Yes," Kennedy responded.

"What? But you didn't even let me finish." Nova pointed out.

"Nova, we'd do anything for you. That's what being a Renegade fan is about. Supporting the renegades!"

"But what if I asked you to kill yourself or something?"

"You wouldn't ask us to, Nova, because you are a renegade and renegades don't kill or ask innocent people to kill themselves." Kennedy answered.

"Fair enough," Nova said. She really hated the renegades but she kind of liked this group. All of the members looked so nice and sweet. There was even a few young club members.

Nova explained her idea.

"I was thinking that we get a scrapbook with a picture of each fan, and the number one reason why they love Sketch or the Renegades in general. I really think it would mean the world to Adrian and it would help him like Christmas more.

"Well, we were going to dedicate this meeting to making cards for all the renegades..."

"What? But there's like, a hundred of them," Nova started.

"But that can wait until next Christmas! Renegades fans? Get your glitter glue out!"

The whole room cheered and collapsed into utter chaos.

Kennedy started to work on the cover while all the members began to design their pages.

An hour later, every fan was finished.

Kennedy was the last to finish, since she worked on the cover, too.

She added her page, and used a three-hole-puncher to make holes and then tied the pages together using green and red ribbons.

"Good job, fans! Now, there is one hour left for the Tree Decorating Ceremony, so go home and get ready! And remember, immediately after, the council is voting on which one of us has the best sweater!"

The club members left.

"I can't think you enough, Nova."  
What? Me? I can't think you enough!"

Kennedy sighed. "With being a fan comes great pain. We know that unless something traumatizing accidentally happens to us, we'll never be renegades.

"Every year after Christmas, I have a group meeting, and that is when I ask them if they got what they wanted for Christmas. I always get no's, because all they want is to be renegades, and they never can. They really needed to do that, to feel useful, and like they were helping the renegades and doing some good for them, other than making some silly cards most of the renegades will probably throw out anyway. We love the renegades, and since we can never be one, the next best thing is to be a super fan who loves and supports them. And doing this scrapbook meant the world to them. Trust me."

'It will mean the world to Adrian, too. So thank you," Nova said as Kennedy handed Nova the book.

"No. The club will present the book to Adrian. As far as I'm concerned, this whole thing was the club members' idea." Nova said.

Kennedy smiled really big, and then hugged Nova.

Nova couldn't help but hug her back.

Like most years, a wooden stage was built around the tree.

There was also ladders, in case anybody wanted to put their ornament up high.

As usual, the council's ornaments were already on.

Nova marveled at the star. All she ever wanted to do was put that star up on the tree.

But she didn't think she ever would. They always let little kids do it.

Darn kids don't know how lucky they are.

Simon tapped the mic, and when the sound echoed around them, he knew it was on.

He began to speak.

"Welcome, citizens of Gatlon, to the eleventh annual Tree Decorating Ceremony!"

Nova heard cheers, with a huge cheer from behind her.

She looked behind her and saw one of the Renegades Fan Club members. The boy with Adrian's sketch book on his sweater.

She saw Kennedy up front. She and Nova got to the ceremony early to let Simon know what was going to happen, and Kennedy fulfilled her dream of standing at the very front during the ceremony.

Simon always picked a little kid to put an ornament on, but he promised Kennedy that she would be within the first ten.

Kennedy texted all the members, and at the end of the ceremony, after the ornaments but before the star, the members would come together and give Adrian the book as a group.

Nova really hoped this would fill Adrian with the Christmas spirit.

If not, then Adrian is hopeless.

The first ten were called. Kennedy was number eight.

The tree ceremony went on as usual. It took a while, since there are a lot of people who live in Gatlon.

Nova waited in line, and she was in the middle. She put an ornament up, and then took her spot again. She noticed Oscar and Ruby huddled together because they were cold. Sterling and Jade were standing in front of them. Danna was there, too, standing next to a mini tree.

Soon, it was time to give Adrian the notebook.

Nova noticed that Notebook guy was no longer behind her and standing next to his group members. Favorite Renegade Sweater girl was standing next to Kennedy.

The group walked up onto the platform and up to Adrian, who was standing next to his dads.

"Adrian," Kennedy started. "It has come to the attention of the Renegade Fan Club that you don't like Christmas. So, in an attempt to cheer you up..."

The youngest member of the Renegade Fan Club came forward with the book in her hands. She looked to be ten.

"We made you a scrapbook that says why we love you and the renegades!"

Adrian's facial expression changed from unhappy to shocked.

"What? For... For me?" Adrian asked. Notebook Sweater guy nodded.

Kennedy had a small smile on her face. "But we can't take all the credit. It was Nova's idea. She had a hard time knowing you were miserable. She just wanted you to be happy and she enlisted our help. She didn't make a page, so we did, on her behalf. And the Reason she loves Sketch is because he's Sketch. A friend, a protector, a hottie, and a Renegade." The crowd laughed a little when she said "hottie" but knowing the Renegade Enthusiast, she meant it.

Adrian flipped through the book, getting glitter all over his gray coat.

He looked up after he reached the last page, tears in his eyes.

Kennedy was whispering something to Captain Chromium.

When she went back to her spot next to her club members, Adrian gave them all hugs.

"And as a gift to the Renegades Fan Club, Simon and I have decided to make you all Honorary Renegades!" Captain Chromium said.

There were several cheers and tears of joy as the members heard the news. Kennedy was full-out sobbing along with the youngest club member.

As all the noise died down, Captain Chromium began talking again.

"Can Nova please come to the stage?" He asked.

Nova cocked her head to the side, wondering why, but obeyed.

She pushed through the crowd, arriving at the platform.

Adrian and the club moved to the side.

Thunderbird appeared with the star.

"A little birdie told me that you've always dreamt of putting the star ion the tree. Though it's usually reserved for little kids, we have decided to make an exception.

Thunderbird smiled and handed Nova the star. "You're a great addition to Sketch's team, Nova."

Nova, still in shock, climbed the ladder and put the star on the tree. The then got down, and plugged it in.

It lit up, brighter than Ruby's sweater.

Everyone cheered.

The ceremony ended and as the club was headed to the headquarters to have their sweater contest, Nova caught up to Kennedy.

"You were the reason why I got to put the star up. How did you know?" Nova asked.

Kennedy paused.

"Don't forget. I'm a member of the Renegades Fan Club. We know all things Renegades." Kennedy said. Nova raised her eyebrows.

Kennedy grinned "My uncle is the mall Santa you saw. He knows I'm a renegade superfan so he tells me the Christmas wish of every renegade he sees. He told me about the star and the tree and Captain Chromium was right there, so I thought I'd suggest it to him while everyone was distracted by Adrian. We really appreciate you, Nova. We love the Renegades, and you are no exception. We love you. So we wanted to make your dream come true." The brunette hugged her. "You deserve it."

She then walked off, falling in step with the youngest renegade.

Nova smiled, still riding the happiness she had from putting the star up.

She looked up at the tree, marveling at the magic of it all.

After the ceremony, Nova went home.

She found Adrian's sweater, folded neatly on her bed, remembering that she put it there a few hours ago.

She figured that, with the tears in his eyes when he received the book, he was no longer bah humbug about Christmas.

Maybe he'd wear it this time.

She decided to visit him and see.

A short walk later, she was at the front door. She knocked.

Simon opened the door.

"Nova!" He exclaimed, hugging her.

"Thanks to you, Adrian is the happiest he's been in a month!"

He noticed the sweater.

"A gift for him?"

She nodded.  
'I also got something for you," She said, handing him a card.

"Oh, you shouldn't have," he said, smiling. "Adrian is downstairs, looking at the book."

Nova nodded and climbed down the stairs.

Adrian was sitting on his couch. He heard the sound and looked for the source.

His eyes locked with Nova's.

She smiled and held up the sweater.

He stood up and crossed the room, grabbing the sweater.

He turned around and changed.

He then took Nova's hand and led her to the couch.

The book was on the coffee table, next to a picture of her and, in neat handwriting, "I love Sketch because he's Sketch."

"That gift means so much to me. I'm finally finding a reason to love Christmas ever since my mom died. It was so thoughtful. Thank you."

Nova smiled and pulled Adrian's hood up.

"It suits you." She said, and they hugged.

When they pulled apart, Nova tucked her feet into the couch cushions and laid her head on Adrian's shoulder, his arm around her.

They stayed like that for a while, enjoying the season.

I had a lot of feelings while writing this. It's my favorite by far.

In case you don't know, Kennedy Smith is me, and I mainly used myself because, well, I'm easy to write, because I obviously know myself pretty well.


	11. Just an Author's Note

As I stated in a previous chapter, I am so sorry that I haven't been updating this!

I pull these chapters from my wattpad account, which is my main account for this fic and has a weird way to set up chapters and it's inconvenient for me and a hassle, so I've been avoiding it, but I got some reviews and decided that I needed to stop being lazy and publish them already.

I feel so bad!

Anyway, I got all the requests and I am compiling all of them in a list so I can begin to work on them. You all have some great ideas! I hope to be less lazy and give you guys the chapters you deserve. I also need to do it so I don't lose readers, because seriously, you guys always make my day and I'd hate to think I'm losing you due to inactivity.

I'm working on pulling these chapters from wattad to here and I just published a lot, so hopefully you like those. I will put more of them up when I can. Now that my college semester is over, I hope to be able to do more.

I would love more requests and more reviews. They make me so happy!

And again I am so sorry for the lack of activity!


	12. The Trials (Part 1)

Thanks, idek_lol357 (wattpad user), I appreciate the request. This chapter is dedicated to you.

_maybe you could add some drama like it's the trials again and there is this really cute guy that might like nova but nova doesn't like him back and Adrian gets jealous...idk _

For obvious reasons, this chapter is very similar to chapter thirteen in the book _Renegades _so I would like to reiterate that this world and all the characters belong to Marissa Meyer. I own nothing. If I owned it, I definitely would not be working at a grocery store.

Adrian loved Nova.

Well, he didn't love her.

He liked her. At the Renegade trials. She did amazing.

Which is why it irked him when another team hit accepted on their tablet.

That simply wouldn't do.

Adrian knew the guy. His name was Soundwave, and he could do some stupid stuff with his voice that like, deafened the villain for a few minutes because of a high frequency his voice could produce on command.

He's seen the guy in action and honestly, not impressed.

He was the leader of his team.

He had three other team members.

The second-in-command was Magnitude. She could make metal items gravitate towards her hands, which came in handy when she attracted something like a dagger or other weapons, sometimes out of the villain's grasp. She also had a strong throwing arm, for throwing said items at the villain. That being said, she had to wear gloves all the time so that metal items couldn't come to her when she wasn't using her power, and she always had one glove on during attacks so that she could actually throw the metal items instead of them sticking to her hands. Growing up as an Asian-American, her parents put importance on her cultural identity, so they signed her up for karate, and that certainly helped with her fighting abilities.

And then there was Lightsaber. She could turn her hands into lightsabers, but only when provoked, and as much as Adrian hated that team, her had to admit her power was really cool. It was like a reflex that only came out as a defense mechanism. Not much is known how Soundwave and Magnitude got their powers, but Lightsaber is very open about it. Her parents used to be part of a gang. They were Hispanic and during the Age of Anarchy, the only way to stay safe was by banding together with your own. However, when her parents had her, they decided to risk being alone because they didn't want their daughter to be around that. In retaliation for leaving, the gang attacked her family when she was eight, and then Lightsaber ran to protect her parents and her arms turned into Lightsabers, probably because of her love for Star Wars. And today, both her parents are still alive, thanks to her.

And then there was Maple. Sure, his alias was stupid and not really well thought out, much like the guy himself, but his power was useful. He could shoot sap from his palm and trap the enemy in a glob of sticky syrup, or even just shoot it at the enemy's shoes and keep them stuck there for as long as it took backup to get there. However, Maple was about as smart as maple syrup, which is to say, pretty darn stupid. Maple was nothing special. He was born with his powers.

(Sorry guys I'm really bad at thinking of powers and aliases, I tried to make them as creative as possible and this is what my brain came up with).

Nova seemed shocked, as it was clear that Adrian's team hit "accepted" first, so now, Nova had the right to choose.

Just as Nova was about to say something, Genissa hit a button, emitting a loud horn sound.

Genissa was challenging both teams' decision.

Adrian groaned and Soundwave rolled his eyes. Magnitude put her hands on her hips and muttered "Really, Genissa?"

Magnitude cleared her throat and said, loud enough so the crowd could hear.

"She's just doing this because I broke up with her a month ago!"

Then, Adrian said "Seriously, Clark?"

"The acceptance of Insomnia has been challenged!" Blacklight exclaimed. Some of the audience members squealed. They must like when prodigies are challenges. Certainly adds more drama.

The seats in the auditorium were all filled, with tons of people on the edge of their seats. Many were prodigies who didn't get in the Renegades or members of the new Renegade Fan Club.

But all Adrian saw was Genissa's smirk, and it immediately set him off.

If he could just wipe that dumb smirk off her stupid face...

"Oh, come on!" Ruby yelled. She stood up. "You're only objecting because it's us."

"No, no, this is clearly her petty way of getting back at me for breaking up with her. You know what, Genissa, you're cruel and toxic and I'm glad I broke up with you," Magnitude snapped, flipping her long black hair behind her.

"Don't flatter yourselves," Genissa yelled, though her face showed a hurt look.

It disappeared in a flash.

Genissa said a few more words, but Adrian was so mad, he barely heard what she was saying. He just kept repeating in his mind that the next time she got close enough to him, he would punch her.

Adrian looked at Nova. He was sorry that Genissa targeted her. And Adrian knew Genissa was lying. She didn't care that Nova might not be worthy to be a renegade. She just wanted to piss Adrian off. That was just how Genissa was.

"There has been a challenge!" Blacklight said again.

Another cheer from the crowd.

"Insomnia, in order to take your place among the Renegades, you must defeat one member of the challenging team in a one-on-one duel..."

Adrian stopped listening to Blacklight, and instead, had an idea.

Genissa was never one to see reason, but maybe just this once...

"Wait! Frostbite, listen."

Genissa turned to him, irritated.

'Oh come on!" Magnitude exclaimed. "We all know Genissa sucks! Just let Nova in already!"

"Magnitude, be quiet," Blacklight said.

Ignoring her, Adrian continued. "I know we can use skills like hers, both on my team and in the broader Renegades organization. I respectfully ask that you retract your challenge."

Genissa chuckled mockingly. "News flash, Everhart. The rest of us don't sleep for sixteen hours of the day, either. It's not exactly a superpower, and besides, how can any of us be sure she's telling the truth?"

"Why would she lie?" Adrian questioned.

"Because she wants to be one of us. Because they all want to be one of us."

Genissa gestured to the stadium, and a member of the Renegades fan club, a blond-haired boy, gave her a nasty look.

"Then why wouldn't she make up a more..." Adrian tried to find a better word, gesturing wildly with his hand "super superpower? Why not—"

Nova must have been getting tired of all the fighting, because she interrupted Adrian and said, "I accept the challenge."

Adrian's eyes moved to the field, where Nova was standing in a powerful stance. Hands on her hips, chin pointed upwards. "I accept the duel."

Genissa smirked and readied herself for the duel.

"Not with you," Nova stated.

Genissa frowned, befuddled.

Nova pointed to Gargoyle.

Oscar choked on his drink. "Is she nuts?"

"Is she ok?" Ruby whispered, so quiet only Adrian could hear her.

"I'll fight the Gargoyle."

There was a chorus of shocked gasps from the crowd.

I know this one is short but I wanted to get it out before my winter break ends. There will be a second part, don't you worry.

And I uh, apologize for the names. I was never good at coming up with names, let alone superhero names. I usually go to a website for pregnant ladies and get names from there, but you can't really do that for superheroes so I had to rely on my brain, and it did not exceed expectations. Although I do hope you appreciate the Star Wars reference. I'm a fan of many fandoms and I love references, so expect more.

Anyway, due to the terrible lack of inclusiveness in the world today, I decided to follow Rick Riordan an Marissa Meyer and include more minorities in my writing, because that's the way it should be in all books, and it's more realistic that way, that being said, I do not want to offend anybody, and if I accidentally slip up and stereotype or offend in any way, please tell me so I can address the problem.

Anyway, as always, requests are welcome.

And until my next update, keep reading!


	13. The Trials (Part 2)

Nova Artino never backs down from a challenge, and neither does Insomnia, apparently.

Nova especially had a bone to pick with Gargoyle. He destroyed Honey's hives and felt no remorse. In fact, he enjoyed it.

Gargoyle looked so arrogant, flexing his muscles and he moved.

The crowd was screaming, and Nova swore she heard some people crying. Perhaps they care, or perhaps they're so glad that something was finally happening in their boring lives.

But this people didn't know Nova. Nova could take care of herself.

Gargoyle was an ass, and everyone, even non-renegades knew it.

Nova was very happy that she was going to be able to take his ego down a few notches.

Blacklight began speaking.

"Do the contestants understand their objectives?"

Nova rose her hand. "Can I have a weapon?" She asked, her voice making an echo in the room.

The audience turned quiet.  
"We weren't allowed to bring non-prodigy Weaponry with us today, but as my claim of being skilled with a multitude of weaponry is part of what's being challenged, it seems fair that I have something to defend myself with."

Blacklight looked at the council.

Gargoyle, as her opponent, you may choose to accept or deny this request." Blacklight said.

Gargoyle open his arms, that stupid smirk still on his face.

"Why not? It ain't ginna make a difference."

From Soundwave's section, Lightsaber corrected him "It isn't going to make a difference, Trevor." (Trevor is Gargoyle's real name, in case you didn't know).

At this, the audience laughed. Gargoyle snarled at her.

'What do you want?" Frostbite shouted, so Nova could hear. "I'll make it myself."

Nova stretched and said "A knife."

Frostbite nearly laughed. "That's it?"

"That's it." Nova replied.

She made the knife and with a mocking chuckle, threw it at Nova, who caught it gracefully.

"That was a poor choice," Frostbite said, taking her seat. "It won't even penetrate his skin."

"Maybe it won't need to," A voice from the audience said. It was so meek that Nova couldn't locate the source.

Nova just smiled back as she lazily twirled the blade between her fingers.

Gargoyle was scary, there was no denying it. He was showing off at this point, changing his skin from rock to muscle, back and forth.

The horn's sound cut through the silence of the auditorium as the audience and council settled in to watch.

(I'm not going to rewrite that because its long so...)

The battle was exciting and the audience was stunned at Nova's win.

Some people cheered while others just sat there, jaws open in shock.

Before she could make it to Adrian's table, two renegades tried to stop her.

Nova was thinking of ways to defend herself when Adrian spoke.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He exclaimed. "They're with me—us. They're on your team."

The Red Assassin sat up.

"Pleased to meet you," Smokescreen said weakly.

"I think we'll get along just fine," The Red Assassin said.

"See? They're fine. You're fine. Everybody's fine." Adrian said.

Soundwave got up.

"Gargoyle is not fine." Smokescreen said.

"Not concerned about Gargoyle," Adrian dismissed.

He uncapped his marker and bent down so he was level with her eyes. He began drawing something over her heart. She flinched and wonder if he noticed how fast her heart was beating.

Maple stood up, too, following Soundwave.

Adrian finished his drawing. It was the Renegade logo.

Adrian held out his hand, and Nova took it, letting Adrian hoist her up.

"Wait," Soundwave snapped.

Nova was standing now.

"Doesn't she get to pick?' Maple asked.

Adrian looked to Blacklight, who nodded.

"So, who'll it be?" Soundwave asked, flipping his shaggy hair.

(For some reason I'm modeling Soundwave after my boyfriend. I don't know why and it's most certainly a bad idea)

To Nova, the decision seemed obvious.

On Adrian's team, she could get insider information because his dads are the on the council.

"Sketch's team," Nova stated.

Soundwave tried to hide his disappointment. Maple just cocked his head.

"She's choosing Sketch, right?"

"...Yes..." The Red Assassin said.

"Well, she was looking at Jessie," Maple said (Jessie is Soundwave's real name).

"Man, he is as stupid as they say," Nova whispered so only Adrian could hear her. He laughed.

Adrian smiled at Nova.

"Welcome to the Renegades."

I know it's short but chapter fourteen consists mostly of the battle scene, and since I didn't want to write all that, it was pretty short. If you want to read the battle scene, pages are 181 to 186.

Get ready for a soundwave centered chapter next!


	14. Soundwave's Plan (No Spoilers)

This is a sort of continuation of the last one-shot

*I edited the name of Soundwave because I just now realized I was using the feminine spelling of the name Jesse*

Maple had been friends with Soundwave for years, now, even before the Renegades.

And yet, it had been awhile since he has seen Soundwave so angry.

It was about an hour after the trials ended, and Soundwave and Maple were hanging out in Maple's room.

"Why are you so mad?" Maple asked, sitting on his swivel chair as Soundwave seethed on his bed.

"Because. Nova. I wanted her on our team." Soundwave replied.

"Well, she picked Sketch."

"Yeah, I was there, Oliver," Jesse said. Oliver was Maple's real name, and when the two boys were hanging out together, they used their civilian names.

Oliver huffed. He hated when Jesse did that.

"I know I'm not the smartest, but don't snap at me like that." He said.

Jesse's face softened. "I'm sorry, Ollie. I just... I thought Nova was awesome. And so pretty. I thought that maybe I'd actually have a chance with her. As you know, my experience with girls isn't great."

Jesse's mom was a doting parent and if Jessie so much as smiled at a girl, Jessie's mom took it to the extreme and tried to pair them together, always scaring the girl away. "I thought if she were a renegade, it would be different. No way a renegade would be scared of my mom, right?"

Maple shrugged. Lightsaber, or Maria, and Magnitude, or Alice, didn't seem scared of Jesse's mom, but that might just be because they're also friends with Jesse and had known him forever just like Oliver did.

"You're so lucky. Your mom is so chill," Jesse sighed.

"It doesn't matter much. I've only ever really liked two girls. One in second grade and one now."

"Really? Who?" Jesse asked.

Oliver widened his eyes.

He hasn't told anyone about his new crush.

"You wouldn't know her," Oliver replied, through he was 99% sure he's seen her around. Every renegade has.

"It is Lightsaber?"

"Ew, no! She's like a sister to me." Oliver said. "Back to you. Why don't you try to date another renegade? Danna's pretty."

"And I'm pretty sure Danna likes girls. She hasn't come out, but it wouldn't surprise me. And besides, no other renegade looks like Nova. She's so cute but also ruthless.

Oliver shrugged. "I wish I knew what to say, man."

"We're gonna get Everhart back." Jesse stated.

"What?" Oliver asked, shocked and sure he heard Jessie wrong.

"Yeah. He got Nova. We deserve something." Jessie added.

"Dude, no. First of all, your mom loves Adrian and would kill you, and second of all, my crush would be very disappointed in me." Oliver said.

"If not you, I'll get Maria or Alice."

"Maria and Alice would never. Cause they're not impulsive."

"Everyone knows you're impulsive, Oliver. They'd expect these behaviors from you, so why not? I'm sure your girlfriend would get over it..."

"She's not my girlfriend. Yet." Oliver interjected.

"That's not important. Adrian thinks he's so great because he's the son of the council leaders and the Golden Boy Poster Child for the Renegades. But we'll show him. We'll put him in his place." Jessie said.

"It's not a good idea, Jessie. Why not try to steal Nova's heart? That way you'll get the girl and Adrian won't get hurt."

"I wouldn't hurt Adrian..."

"You would. Besides, Adrian might not like Nova. Maybe he just wanted her on his team. Like Danna and Ruby. He doesn't like them."

"I felt something. I felt the chemistry when Adrian helped her up. He does like her. And him and Nova will spend a lot of time with each other. I'm sure they'll develop something before I can swipe her."

"Come on, Jessie..."

"No. I can't get to Nova in time. I'll just have to get revenge on Adrian."

"Jesse... hey, have you heard of the Renegades fan club? Those girls would do anything for you and I'm sure it would take more than your crazy well-meaning mom to scare them away." Oliver said.

"I've heard of them. Everyone has. They're relatively new, though. I'm sure there's not a lot of girls there quite yet."

"There is." Oliver stated.

"How do you know?" Jessie inquired.

"Well, I mean, I assume..." Oliver replied.

In all honestly, Oliver just heard about them himself from a poster on one of the bulletin boards next to the arena.

"Wasn't it started by a girl?" Oliver asked, though he knew the answer. The poster had a picture of the leader and her contact information. Oliver knew her as the Grocery Store Girl. She told him that Maple was one of her favorites. It made him blush every time he helped his dad shop.

"I don't know. Why do you know so much? You can't even be part of the club. It's for non-renegades."

"I know that. But still. I know the leader. I can ask her for the names of the girls in the club and you could go chasing them and leave Sketch's team alone. Please, Jessie." Oliver pleaded.

"No. I want Nova and only Nova." Jessie snapped.

Oliver sighed.

Oliver's mom knocked on the door.

"Come in," Oliver shouted.

His mom opened the door, her wheelchair blocking the door frame.

His mom used to be a renegade, and she got hurt in the process and was now paralyzed from the waist down. Despite that, she wasn't nearly as overprotective as Jesse's mom and gave Oliver a lot of freedom. Oliver's dad was always great at splitting up housework and co-parenting, but when she became paralyzed, he got even better. It took his mom some time to adjust and stop feeling depressed, but ever since she got a work-from-home job and made the house wheelchair-approved, she's been doing better.

"Jesse, your sister's here to pick you up."

Jesse was old enough to get his driver's license, but it was another thing his mom didn't let him do until he was eighteen. It was the same way for his sister, Lucy, who was nineteen and got hers the year prior. Seeing as Jessie was seventeen, he still needed to wait another year.

"Jesse, just, please promise me that you won't do anything stupid." Oliver pleaded.

"Me? Stupid? Pfft," Jessie said as Oliver's mom moved aside to let Jesse through.

Kelly, Oliver's mom, waited for the sound of the door closing to speak.

"I know that look, Ollie," She said, pushing herself through the doorway.

"Something happened at the trials. Soundwave is angry and..."

"What happened?" Kelly asked.

"Jesse accepted a girl onto our team. But so did Sketch. She chose Sketch's team."

"The Everhart boy?"

"Yes."

"Aren't you friends with him? You went to school together." Kelly said.

That again, was true. Oliver was Adrian's age, eighteen. Oliver was the oldest member on his team, Jessie was second, at seventeen. Both Maria and Alice were sixteen.

"I am friends with him, and it's frustrating because Jesse is really upset. I guess he really liked Nova. And he's mad and wants to get revenge on Adrian," Oliver said.

"Revenge? Over a girl? Damn, that boy escalates quickly."

"I want to remain Adrian's friend, but Jesse wants me to help him." Oliver continued.

"Well, Ollie, I raised you to be a kind person above all things. I know you'll do what you think is right," Kelly said.

"I tried, mom. I tried to divert his attention, begged him not to be impulsive. I tried everything. I even offered to speak to Grocery Store Girl about the girls in her new club. He didn't listen." Oliver said.

"You've been friends with Jesse ever since you and he met at that playground, and you knew from the start that he was impulsive. You've dealt with it before. You can deal with it now," Oliver's mother spoke.

Oliver sighed.

"You're right, mom." Oliver finally said.

"Of course I am. Now, your father just got back from the store. Help him bring in the groceries."

"He went without me?"

"You had company over, dear." Kelly replied.

Oliver hopped off his chair to help his father.

He was hungry, and the sooner he helped his dad, the sooner dinner would be on the table.

"Who cooks tonight?" Oliver asked. The small family took turns cooking. Last night, his mom cooked.

"It's your turn," Kelly replied.

"Oh shoot, I forgot. And we need spaghetti. Well, better get to the store," Oliver said abruptly, grabbing the keys just as his father brought in the frozen foods.

"What is that boy doing?" Austin, Oliver's dad, asked, setting the groceries down.

"Needs spaghetti noodles," Kelly said.

"But I just bought noodles. I always do. Oliver knows that." Austin said.

He sighed. "Well, at least I brought all the frozen foods in."

"He won't be going far," Kelly said.

"Why is that?"

"He forgot his wallet," She replied, pointing to the coffee table, where Oliver's wallet sat.

So, unknowingly the Renegades Trials became a continuation of one-shots without much romance between Nova and Adrian.

But it's coming.

Anyway, what does Soundwave have in mind?

Full disclosure, I have no idea myself. I'm bad at revenge. But I'm sure I'll figure something out, even if I have to google it.

Any idea who Oliver's crush is? It's not any of his teammates, Alice is a lesbian and Lightsaber is like his little sister.

Keep Reading!


	15. Soundwave's Revenge (No Spoilers)

Oliver woke up to the sound of his phone ringing.

It was 6 am on a Saturday. Who was calling this early?

He looked at the caller ID and rolled his eyes.

Soundwave.

He answered the call, still lying down and exhausted.

"Jesse, it's six in the morning."

"Yes! And the headquarters just opened! Adrian comes in at eight, so if we want to get revenge, now is the time!" Jesse exclaimed.

"What? Jesse, no," Oliver said. "This is my only day to sleep in. You know I coach the little league soccer team Sunday mornings."

"You can take a nap after! It's Adrian's team's turn to work Saturday and I want to make it as miserable as possible!"

Oliver, though sleep deprived, had an idea.

What if he could combat Soundwave's every attempt at sabotaging Adrian?

That's how he ended up at Renegades Headquarters at 6 am.

"What practice room do you think they'll use?" Soundwave asked as Maple (they were referred to as their superhero names because they're in uniform) took a huge sip of his coffee.

"I don't know, man," Maple said, already exhausted.

"Come on, Ollie! It's gonna be fun!"

"I have to deal with screaming six-year olds tomorrow. I don't want to deal with you acting like you're six years olds today," Maple replied darkly.

Soundwave just chuckled. "I know you're kidding!"

"Hey!" A voice said.

Maple turned and was face-to-face with someone he didn't know.

"My name is Tara, and I am vice-president of the Renegades Fan Club." She flashed what Maple though looked like a coupon but was so quick he couldn't be sure.

"Our dear president is at work today, dealing with the Karens of Gatlon. So she sent me. Someone tipped us off and told us that you would be getting revenge on our dear, sweet Sketch," Tara said. "And I'm sorry, Soundwave. I love you, I really do, but I can't let you do that. Sketch is very much loved within our club."

"Hmmm. I wonder who tipped them off," Soundwave said, turning to Maple, who just played dumb. "Sketch is loved by everyone. Nobody ever loves me." Soundwave added.

"Your mom is a psycho. You're surprised?" Tara asked.

"How do you know that?"

"The fan club knows all." Tara said, not elaborating.

"Anywho, lucky for you, you're my favorite. So I'll let you off with a warning." Tara stated.

"But you'll understand if we have someone discreetly guarding Adrian this week. We already have volunteers. If you're mad, take it up with the president. She'll be guarding Adrian with our youngest member, Stacy, on Wednesday at..."

She looked at a clipboard "4pm to 8pm."

"Good day, sir."

At that, she stayed on a bench and waited for Adrian. Looks like she would be the first guard today.

Maple silently thanked Grocery Store Girl (GSG) for telling her club.

Then, he went back home and went back to sleep.

At practice the following Monday, Soundwave didn't say anything about Saturday and Maple allowed himself to believe that maybe, just maybe, Soundwave let this whole thing go.

On Saturday, when Maple was enjoying a dream about being a part of the Renegade Council one day, his phone rang.

"I swear to God if it's..."

"Hi, Jesse," Oliver said stiffly, answering the phone.

"I know it was you," Jesse said.

"What?"

"You told your little flirt buddy about my plan, didn't you?"

"Huh?"

"The president of the fan club! She works at the store your family shops at all the time, and she happens to be the president of the fan club that stopped me from getting my revenge and I know it was all you."

"It was for your own good, and she gave me a list..."

"I don't want the damn list, traitor! Now, if you don't get your ass down here and help me get revenge on Adrian, you're officially off of my team."

"Jesse, seriously? We've been friends since we were toddlers..."

"And don't tell your girlfriend about it. I'll know if you do. Tara better not be there to stop me."

"She's not my... Never mind. You're really not going to let this go?"

"No," Jesse replied. He sounded angry. His words stuck in the air like an angry virus.

For the second Saturday in a row, Maple was at Renegades Headquarters at 6:15 am with a travel cup of coffee clutched in his hand, feeling more bitter than last weekend.

"Why is Adrian working again?"

"Luna is out sick..." Luna was a renegade who could light herself up with blinding white light, bright like the full moon. "And Adrian offered to take her shift if he could get next month's Saturday off, and she agreed."

"Luna! She's a nice girl! Why don't you date her?"

"Everyone knows she's asexual, Maple," Soundwave replied. "She could still date, but she swore it off. She wants to be like Artemis, that mythological goddess of the moon."

Maple frowned. He had forgotten that little detail.

Adrian came in at eight.

"Why did we arrive two hours early?"

"So I could bounce my ideas off of you."

Oh, right. The whole time Soundwave talked about his ideas; Maple ignored him. In one ear, and out the other.

"So, we both agreed that I'd replace with early morning mango shake and donut with a kale smoothie and his doughnut with play-dough."

"Mmm hmm," Maple said, tuning him out once again.

Adrian set his food down to talk to Ruby about the day's plan and Soundwave striked.

He replaced the smoothie (it was in a non-transparent container), and the doughnut.

When Soundwave wasn't paying attention, Maple changed it back.

Soundwave watched, waiting for Adrian to spit it out.

He looked at the shake, confused. He opened the lid of the shake container.

"Oh, it's green. Did I not switch them? I could have sworn I did... I bet Adrian got a kale smoothie this time! I thought he hated kale! Damn it!"

Insomnia walked past the two. She looked at Soundwave. Their hiding place, behind a fake plant, wasn't good. It was a wonder Sketch hadn't noticed the two.

"I don't know what you're doing, but I want that smoothie. You didn't drink out of it, did you?"

Soundwave shook his head.

"I was actually bringing it to you! Because I want to be your friend!" Soundwave lied.

"Ok, cool," Imsomnia said. "I love kale."

"Can I give that donut to Oscar?" She asked.

"Oh, you don't want the donut. Trust me." Maple interjected.

"No, that's why I want to give it to Oscar." The superheroine replied.

"It's a veggie infused donut. Maple's favorite." Soundwave lied.

"Oh, yeah, Oscar hates anything healthy," Insomnia said. heading back to her team members.

"My favorite?" Maple asked.

Soundwave shrugged.

*For months after that, a member from the well-meaning Renegades Fan Club showed up every morning to give Maple a custom-made vegetable donut because they overheard Nova telling Oscar about the incident and Maple had to force it down because he didn't want to hurt their feelings.*

"Ok, well good thing I have a plan B."

'And what's that?"

"Embarrassing him in front of his teammates!"

Maple sighed.

As Sketch's team sparred, Soundwave threw some marbles on the floor.

Maple pretended to accidentally drop something heavy on the floor, so they would stop sparring.

It worked, and Adrian noticed the marbles.

"How did these get here?" Adrian asked.

"Maple! You ruined my plot! Be more careful!"

All day, Soundwave tried to get his revenge, and all day, Maple foiled his plan.

At the end of the day, the two were on their way home, Soundwave was angry and sad. Maple felt bad, but Adrian was innocent in all this. Maple was also very tired and hoped that Soundwave would give up after this.

Maple did not expect to see an enraged president and vice-president of the Renegades Fan Club waiting outside for the two.

Kennedy was seeing red, and her second-in-command, Tara, was so angry she could barely speak.

"What were you doing in there?" Kennedy asked, arms crossed.

"Um... " Soundwave started.

"Our good friend and fellow member of the fan club, Aaron, who works at the front desk told us that you were here today and looked awfully suspicious, hiding behind fake greenery," Kennedy explained.

"And we knew what you were planning last week," Tara spoke, getting calmer, but not by much.

"First off, Soundwave, I don't know what your problem is. Nova is not some prize, and she deserves respect and autonomy. You will not fight over her like she's something that can be won or bought." Kennedy ranted.

"Second, Maple, we expected this from Soundwave, but you? We thought you'd be smarter than this." Tara said. Kennedy looked particularly disappointed.

"I thought we were friends," She interjected. "You said you were a feminist, too."

Maple couldn't tell her the truth, or else Soundwave would kick him off the team, so he stayed silent. He could explain himself later, in private.

"If you ever attempt to get petty revenge on Adrian again, we will have no choice but to kick your team off of our team roster, which means you will never get gifts from the fan club and..." Kennedy started.

Tara narrowed her eyes. "We'll tell the council about your sabotage an let them decide your fate." Tara finished.

"And in case that's not serious enough, we'll tell every single renegade about what you did and you will never ever get a date again." Kennedy added,

The two women walked away.

"They're not happy."

"No, shit, Jesse." Maple sighed. "I'm going home now, and never ask me to take part in one of your stupid ideas again." He followed after the girls, to his own car.

"Wait! You're my ride!"

"Call your sister!" Maple yelled back.

Then he left.

Jesse may have big talk, but in all honesty, he and Oliver go way back. Oliver was sure that Jesse wouldn't kick him off the team.

Now, he just needs to make things up to Grocery Store Girl.

The next weekend, Oliver had a plan.

He had gone to the person in charge of renting out rooms and asked when the renegades fan club would have their next meeting. She thought it was strange that a renegade was asking and pointed out the Renegades Fan Club was for non-renegades, but he said that he wanted to make a surprise visit. They love renegades and knew they wouldn't mind. The person smiled and readily told him after that.

So Saturday afternoon, at one-fifteen pm, fifteen minutes after the meeting started, Oliver had rounded up Jesse and td him that he needed to apologize to the whole fan club.

Oliver opened the door and saw Tara and Kennedy showing the club how to properly put posters of the renegades on their walls.

"You always want to put the tape in the corner and horizontal," Tara said.

"Or, if you want to get fancy, fold the tape and put it on the back, but it takes a lot of tape to hold it up that way, so do it sparingly."

The girls looked up to see Oliver and Jesse.

"Oliver? Jesse?" The whole room turned their heads to look at them.

The youngest member, Stacy, at ten years old, stood up and pointed at them.  
"It's Soundwave and Maple! Maple, do the thing!"

Oliver looked surprised. "But..."

"On the table! That way, it won't make a mess!" The girl suggested.

"I..."

"It would make a mess," Soundwave said.

"Come on! Do it!" The ten-year-old pleaded.

"We do have paper towels," Kennedy said.

"Ok," Oliver said. He aimed his hand at the table and concentrated.

Maple syrup shot from his hand like Spiderman's web does.

The whole club cheered.

After the cheers died down, Kennedy spoke.

"What brings you two here today?"

She desperately tried to hide her poster, because it had Maple on it. Oliver pretended not to notice.

"Jesse has something to say," Oliver stated.

Jesse looked down.

"I'm sorry for betraying the club's trust and trying to get revenge on Sketch," He said.

Kennedy came forward.

"Well, what do you say, club? Should we forgive him?" She asked.

Tara nodded, and so did many club members. Some die-hard Sketch fans shook their head.

"Well, by majority vote, we forgive you, Jesse," Tara said.

Jesse smiled. 'Thanks. It means a lot."

Stacy and Aaron cleaned up Maple's mess, since they were closest.

"Hey, is that a poster of Maple?" Jesse asked, pointing to Kennedy's poster.

"It's not like that!" She defended. "It was the only one I could find."

That was a lie. There was an open magazine on the table and there was a poster of Smokescreen on one side and a poster of Genissa on the other.

The cub members all knew she was lying. Maple really was her favorite renegades, and not just because she thought his powers were cool.

Tara went up to Jesse.

"I'm not afraid of your mom," She stated, slipping a piece of paper in his jacket pocket.

Jesse blushed.

"Well, as much as we would love for you to stay, we must show our club members proper poster etiquette. Oh, and Oliver, expect a big shipment of birthday presents next week. We're not saying from who."

Oliver thought the answer was obvious but nodded. He almost forgot his birthday was next week.

The club members waved good-bye and stepped out of the room, closing the door.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Oliver asked.

Jesse stared at the slip of paper Tara had given him. It had her number on it.

"Tara's pretty. And she's nice." Jesse said.

"She is. But she's not a renegade," Oliver said.

"I don't mind that," Jesse said, pocketing the slip of paper again.

"So your crush?"

"Not Tara," Oliver said, confused.

"No, the other one." Jesse stated.

"Oh! Not her, either..."

"You're lying."

"Am not!"

Jesse gave him a look.

"Ok, maybe I like her a little bit."

"So, double date with me and Tara?"

"I haven't asked her on a date,"

"No, but I know you will."

"Maybe," Oiver said."But first, let's go see a movie. With just the two of us, to celebrate the club forgiving you."

"Deal," Jesse said.

So this turned out way longer than I expected.

As I was writing about Maple, from the very start, I realized that I liked him.

So I immediately started to ship us.

There's a part in this chapter where I mentioned the word "feminist".

I am a soon-to-be social worker, and I can tell you with certainty that the word feminist means equality for men AND women. It, in no way, implies that women are better than men, that would be a feminazi.

Just to clear things up.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter. I no it's not Nodrian or Osby based, but now that Soundwave is out f the way, Adrian and Nova can continued to be happy.

And Nova likes kale, who knew?

So, until my next update,

Keep Reading!


	16. Friends (Grade School Osby)

Ruby got to school early and sat in her usual seat. She didn't have many friends, but her favorite friend, Danna, was absent today. Her dad had called Ruby's mom and said she was sick, so he'd miss carpool.

Ruby hated the days that Danna was absent. Danna was the only person in the school Ruby hung out with. Ruby just didn't really click with the other girls. They all talked about boys and dolls and that new TV show about fairies. Ruby didn't like those things. She preferred pretend dueling and shows about superheroes. She really liked the old spiderman movies and TV shows from the 2000s. She knows they're old, but she still likes them.

The teacher started class and introduced a new kid.

Ruby's face lit up when she saw that he was wearing a Spiderman shirt.

"Hey, everybody. We have a new student who just moved here. Can you tell us your name?"

"I'm Oscar Silva," The kid said quietly.

"What's your favorite subject?"

"Um, science," The kid replied.

"You can sit by Ruby," The teacher said. Ruby smiled and waved.

He put his head down and walked to the desk.

They were currently reading from their books.

Oscar wasn't much of a reader, so he focused on the nice girl next to him. She moved her mouth when she read, but she didn't say the words out loud. Her hair was black and white, nothing like Oscar had ever seen before.

Ruby looked up and noticed that Oscar was staring, and he quickly turned his head to the book.

Ruby knew he was staring. She could see him in her peripheral vision.

She kept thinking that any moment, he'll look away.

So she lifted her head and looked at him.

He turned away.

It was like that all morning, Oscar, staring at her hair or her general direction, and she would look at him and he would turn away, and then a few minutes later start staring again.

At recess, she decided to get a friend's advice.

She was sitting at a swing, talking to one of her friends, Maria, one she didn't really hang out with much unless Danna was gone, when she took up the subject of Oscar. She told Maria about how Oscar was acting this morning.

"Well, maybe he likes you," Maria said when Ruby was done talking.

"Likes me? No boy has ever liked me before."

"Oh, it's so romantic! Like Hans Solo and Princess Leia!"

"Who said anything about romance?" Ruby asked.

"I ship it!" Maria announced.

"Ship what?" An older kid, Luna, asked, coming up to the girls (Luna, Maple, and Adrian are two years older than Ruby and Oscar, this is non-canonical, but since Nova is two years younger than Adrian, I thought it made sense).

"Ruby and Oscar! We think Oscar likes Ruby!" Maria exclaimed, a twinkle in her eyes.

"You mean that new kid? He seems kinda weird to me," Luna said.

"Why?"

"I don't know. He just gives me that vibe," Luna replied.

She spotted a friend of hers.

"Adrian! Wait up! I want to play kickball, too!"

She turned to Maria and Ruby. "I'll see you later!" She said, running off.

"You should go talk to Oscar," Maria said.

"About the staring?"

"Yeah. Then we can find out if he likes you. I can go with you, if you want," Maria said.

Ruby nodded.

She and Maria found Oscar, standing next to a tree.

"Yeah, tree. I don't have any friends yet," He said, seemingly talking to the tree. "I just moved here. Will you be my friend?"

The tree obviously did not respond.

He sighed. "Yeah, most kids are saying no, too."

"Oscar?" Ruby asked.

He turned to them.

"I wasn't talking to that tree," He lied.

"Ruby, go on," Maria said, nudging Ruby's arm.

"Oscar, you were staring at me in class today. I want to know why," Ruby said.

"Oh. Well, I just thought you were really cool. I wanted to ask about your hair," Oscar said.

"My grandma helps me dye it," Ruby replied, smiling. "It's ok, Oscar. We know you don't have a lot of friends yet. So Maria and I will be your friends. And my other friend, Danna, who's absent today, will be your friend, too."

Maria nodded her head vigorously.

"I love having new friends!" She exclaimed.

"You wanna play with us? I'm sure we can find a soccer ball to kick around somewhere around here." Ruby said.

Oscar looked down at his legs.

"I have a bone disease." He said

"Oh," Ruby said.

"That's ok. We can play a different game," Maria said.

"Do you know how to make paper airplanes?" Ruby asked.

"Not good ones," Oscar replied.

"I'll teach you," She said, sitting down.

And together, they made paper airplanes for the whole recess period.

Which, admittedly, wasn't long.

This is hands-down one of my favorites 3

At the end, with the whole friendship thing, it kind of reminded me of a Strawberry Shortcake episode (the younger readers might not get this reference), anyway, it was kind of cheesy with the whole friendship thing and definitely has Strawberry Shortcake's seal of approval.

But I loved Strawberry Shortcake when I was a kid, so I'm happy with it. I think it's much better than the other one.

Like I said, I won't take the other one down, in case any readers enjoyed it. Just because I didn't doesn't mean you don't.

I'm a little sad today because comic con in my state was rescheduled because of the coronavirus. I almost cried. Anyway, of course, Osby made me feel better and forget about it for a bit.

So thank you, Osby.

Anyway, until the next time,

Keep reading!


	17. Truth or Dare (Nodrian & Osby)

**Nodrian/Osby Truth or Dare feat. Max **

Takes place before Nova and Adrian and Ruby and Oscar are together. Takes place before Supernova, but after Archenemies.

There are some Archenemies spoilers.

Dedicated to TheBandit on for their request: Truth or Dare w/ both ships.

Nova, Adrian, Ruby, and Oscar sat in a half circle outside of Max's quarantine. If anyone passed, they would think there was some sort of cult meeting going on, but actually just four bored teens playing a game.

"Why are we letting Max do this again?" Oscar asked.

"He wanted to. He's trapped in here every day. He deserves it."

"Too bad Danna's not feeling well."

She had called Ruby earlier, confessing that she had the stomach flu and couldn't play truth or dare with Max like they had planned. Not only that, but she'd miss watch in the morning, too.

"Who do you want to go first, Max?"

"Adrian. Obviously," Max said.

"Ok. Truth or dare?" Oscar asked Adrian.

"Um…"

Adrian bit his lip. If he picks dare, Max will tell him to kiss Nova. If he picks truth, he'll have to spill something embarrassing.

"Um… Truth, I guess?"

"Ok. Have you ever stared at Nova's lips for a long period of time?" Max asked.

"I-uh…"

Nova stared at him.

"Um, i… Yes! But only because she had a crumb…"

"Right," Max said.

Oscar laughed.

"Hmmm…. Oscar laughed. Would you like to go next?" Max asked.

"No…"

"Too bad! Truth or dare, Silva?"

"Um…" He contemplated his next words.

"Um, dare…"

"I'll start you off easy," Max said. "Give us your best Adrian impression."

If Max is letting Oscar start easy, maybe Adrian should have picked dare.

"Oh! easy," Oscar said.

He cleared his throat and made his voice deeper and more nervous.

"My name is Adrian. I love Nova Artino but I'm too scared to tell her so I just talk to her and stumble over my words like an idiot. Also my superpower is markers," Oscar impersonated.

The whole group laughed. Even Adrian. He could laugh at his own expense, because he's a real man. No toxic masculinity here.

"Nova," Max said, turning to her.

"Dare," She answered before they gave her a question.

"Oh… Um, flex your muscles." (Nova is ripped, you can't convince me otherwise).

Nova stood up and flexed her biceps.

Ruby whooped and Adrian blushed.

Max was just getting warmed up.

Nova and Adrian will kiss today. And same with Oscar and Ruby.

Max just needs to lure them into a false sense of security and then strike.

Max has always been good with perception. The glass prison he was in gave him nothing better to do but observe.

He saw the way Adrian would look at Nova. He saw the way his eyes lit up when he talked about her.

Of course, even a blind monkey could figure out that Adrian liked Nova. He wasn't exactly subtle.

And Oscar and Ruby… Well, Ruby should just ask Oscar out already because clearly Oscar is too nervous to make the first move even though both of them were clearly into each other.

So here he is. A twelve-year-old playing matchmaker for three teenagers and an adult (Adrian is 18, technically an adult).

"Ruby, truth or dare?"

Ruby, perhaps, was the only one who wasn't actively trying to get into a relationship. Sure, she liked Oscar, and if he asked her out, she'd say yes, but honestly, she could wait. Therefore, nothing will get done. She's not going to make the first move.

She looked at the floor.

"Hmmm… Truth," She decided.

"Have you ever practiced kissing on your mirror?" Max asked. A little embarrassing, but nothing compared to the big guns he'll be pulling out after this.

"Oh, um, no." She said. "But I have practiced on my hand."

She said the last part so quietly, Max strained to hear, especially because he was behind glass.

Nova chuckled, Adrian stifled a laugh, and Oscar looked surprised.

"Who were you planning to kiss?" Oscar asked.

"It's not my turn anymore, I don't have to tell you anything," Ruby said, looking away.

"Adrian! Back to you," Max said.

If all goes well, his brother will pick dare since Oscar's was so easy.

This plan was almost too good.

"Dare!" Adrian said, thinking this will be a breeze.

"Point to the person you consider to be the hottest in this… er, room, for lack of a better word."

Adrian was not expecting that.

He absolutely froze.

Oscar stiffened. If he points to Ruby so help him…

Ruby chuckled, knowing that Adrian was in love with Nova.

I mean he tried to kiss her. If Nova didn't think Adrian liked her, she was pretty dumb.

Nova knew Adrian liked her. She wasn't stupid. After he tried to kiss her, she just kind of ignored it and went on like things were normal.

Why would Max ask this? It's not exactly a secret that Adrian liked her.

Adrian pointed at Nova.

"Obviously," Ruby said. "Max, at this point, even Nova knows Adrian likes her."

"I'm starting you guys off easy," Max replied.

"Bring it on! I'm ready!" Oscar exclaimed.

"Oh, really?" Max asked.

"Shoot, I'm next, aren't I?" Oscar asked.

"Truth or dare?" Max asked.

"Either way I'm screwed. I've never been good with words, so I'll go with dare," Oscar said.

"Oscar, I dare you to hold Ruby's hand for the rest of the game."

Oscar went red and Ruby realized that her hand was starting to sweat.

Her eyes widened and she tried to wipe her hands without anyone else noticing.

No one else noticed, but Max did.

Oscar clutched Ruby's hand.

"Ok! Nova, care to go?"

"I'll go with truth this time," Nova said.

"Give me one word that describes how Adrian makes you feel," Max said.

Nova paused, thinking.

She was an anarchist. And she as been trying to oppress her feelings for her.

One wrong move, and Adrian could catch on that she's starting to like him and won't leave her alone, making her mission that much harder.

"Safe," Nova replied. "He makes me feel… safe."

Ruby cooed and Adrian smiled.

Nova felt horrible, knowing that soon enough, Adrian will figure out that while he makes her feel safe, she makes him feel the opposite.

"Ruby, you're next," Max said.

"I pick dare," Ruby replied.

"Ok. I dare you to ask Oscar out on a date."

Ruby choked on her own spit.

"What?"

"You heard me," Max said.

Ruby looked at Oscar.

"Um, Oscar, would you…"

"Yes!" Oscar said, er, screamed, actually.

"Saturday at six?" She suggested,

"Sounds like a plan," Oscar replied.

Ahh, they better mention Max in their wedding speech.

As much as Max wanted this to go on, It was getting late, and he knew that they had watch first thing in the morning.

"Ok, last round," Max said.

He still had a few tricks up his sleeve.

"Adrian," He said.

Adrian wasn't stupid. He knew Max was gonna make him kiss Nova, and as much as he wanted to, he knew that she wouldn't feel comfortable with that.

"Truth," Adrian said.

Max was surprised… Adrian wanted to kiss Nova, right? Has he really not caught on yet?

Ok, well, there's still time. Hopefully Nova will pick dare.

"Ok, Adrian, when did you realize you liked Nova?" Max asked.

Adrian thought. He didn't want to say at the trials. He knew she was different then, but he didn't like her.

"I liked her before this, but when I actually realized it was when I thought I lost her at the carnival." Adrian said.

Nova blushed.

"Ok, Oscar?" Max asked.

"I'll go with truth, this time." Oscar said.

"Ok. We all know you like Ruby, but tell us how you really feel about her." Max said.

Oscar paused. "I think…" He swallowed. "I think I love her."

Ruby's alias became really convenient there, because her whole body went red.

She squeezed his hand.

He smiled at her.

"Ok, Nova," Max said.

"Dare," She said immediately.

She knew Max was going to make her kiss Adrian. She knew. But… as much as she was preparing to say truth, she really wanted to kiss Adrian.

So she said dare.

"Kiss Adrian." He said.

"Nova, if you don't wa…"

Nova shut him up when her lips met his.

Nobody noticed that Simon and Hugh were walking by.

Simon started freaking out.

"Hugh! Get your phone out and take a picture! Oh, what a day for my phone to die!" Simon cried.

Hugh got his phone out and took at least twenty oictures, even after Adrian and Nova pulled apart.

"Did you get it?" Simon asked.

"Yes!" Hugh exclaimed. They began to squeal.

"Why are your dads acting like twelve-years-olds who just discovered One Direction?" Ruby asked.  
"Oh, this? This is actually pretty tame for them." Adrian replied, still kind of shaken.

Even though him and Nova were no longer touching, the electric feeling remained. He knew Nova could feel it, too.

"Ok, last one, then we have to go or else no amount of coffee will make me feel better in the morning," Ruby said.

"Right. Truth or dare, Ruby?"

"Dare…" She paused. "And if you don't make me kiss Oscar, I will never forgive you."

Oscar was pretty sure he heard Ruby wrong, but then Max said "Alright, well, you know what to do."

And before Oscar could even blink, Ruby took Oscar's head in her hands and kissed him.

Simon and Hugh were still watching. Simon started patting Hugh's arm rapidly and Hugh got the message and began taking pictures.

"How lucky to spot both of them kissing on the same day," Simon whispered. "Why did I drain my phone's battery listening to One Direction all day? I could be taking pictures right now."

"Wait til Ruby's mom sees this. She'll get so mad that she missed it."

Oscar and Ruby pulled apart, somewhat reluctantly.

"Thanks," Max said to the four. "You really made this birthday worthwhile."

"I'll find a way to get you out of there, Max, I promise." Adrian said.

"yeah, if you can stay away from Nova long enough to find a solution, let me know." Max joked.

Adrian rolled his eyes and got up, walking next to Nova.

Ruby and Oscar were still holding hands, a few strides in front of Adrian and Nova.

"Well, it's scary how smart Max is," Nova commented.

"Yep," Adrian agreed.

"But… I think this was a good thing," She said.

She now knew there was no denying that she had feelings for Adrian.

What was she going to do?

This isn't my best work, and it may seem a little rushed, but I just wanted to get this out as soon as I could. Not only that, but I also have a lot on my mind.

2020 is not only a mess socially, but it's screwing up my personal life, too.

Anyway, I do like the end, so there's that/ And even though I wouldn't say it's my best, I don't think I will rewrite it, mostly because I've never been very good at the whole truth or dare thing. I have a creative mind, but not so creative when it comes to thinking up questions and dares. Creative in a different way, I guess.

Anyway, I still like it, so I hope you do, too.

I would like to reiterate that I am no longer taking requests, not that I get many anyway. I still have a few requests I need to finish up, including one requested long ago that is so amazing I am waiting until the end as kind of a "finale".

Anyway,

Until next time,

Keep reading!


	18. Cats vs Dogs (Nodrian Fluff, No Spoilers

This one-shot is just a stupid little pointless one, just to help me get in the swing of things. I finished most of my requests, but I still have one that if extremely difficult because I want to make sure it's perfect, so just be patient (the requester will know what I'm talking about).

No spoilers here, so read on!

"Cats," Nova said, her eyes peering over a book about cats.

"Dogs," Adrian replied, holding open a book about dogs.

"Cats," Nova replied, firmer.

"Dogs." Adrian replied in the same tone.

Nova hissed. Adrian growled.

"What the hell are they doing?" Danna asked Ruby.

"They've been fighting over which pet is better. Simon and Hugh finally agreed to get a family pet and they're trying to decide whether he should get a cat or a dog, so Nova and Adrian are putting PowerPoints together."

"How is Nova involved? She's not even part of the family."

"Who knows," Oscar interjected.

Nova showed Adrian a picture of a Bengal. Adrian showed her a picture of a Pomeranian (Adrian would love fluffy small cloud dogs and you can fight me on this).

"Ruby and I both agree dogs are better than cats," Oscar said.

"No, I'm a cat person," Ruby replied.

"Damn it, I really hoped our last argument changed your mind," Oscar said.

"Cats are better. There's no changing my mind," Ruby insisted.

"I'm more of a hamster person myself," Danna said. "Cats and dogs are too big."

"Cats are so hateful," Adrian stated.

"Are not! They're kind of like me. Slow to trust and warm up to strangers."

"Why get a hateful cat when I can get a smol and fluffy Maltese?"

"Because their yaps will make you want to shove a pencil in your ear."

"Ok, that escalated." Oscar said, still standing next to Ruby.

The three decided to just let this play out.

"Ok, I understand that they're focused and whatnot, but do they have to be standing in the middle of the combat room?" Soundwave asked, arriving with his team.

"I can ask them to move," Maple offered.

"You don't want to interrupt them. Trust me," Ruby said.

"Cats!"

"Dogs!"

"Totally dogs," Magnitude said. "I have three."

"Absolutely not!" Lightsaber said. "I have two cats and they're the most important things in my life."

Soon, Luna and her team arrived.

"We heard that Nova and Adrian were arguing and wanted to see," She said.

"What are they arguing about?" One of Luna's team members asked.

Lightsaber got them up to speed.

"I'm going with dogs. My pitbull, Dexter, can do no wrong."

"Ha," Luna's twin sister and also fellow teammate scoffed.

"Dexter once destroyed Dad's homemade cake. Macy never did."

"That's because I'm 90% sure she only feeds on human pain. I'm confident that Macy was made by the devil," Luna said, referring to the family's aggressive calico.

"Pfft," Luna's sister said.

Tara, vice president of the Renegades fan club and Soundwave's girlfriend came in, to deliver Maple's vegetable muffin (Please read my Soundwave's Plan series if you don't understand).

She put a manicured finger on Soundwave's shoulder. He turned around.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Nova and Adrian are fighting over cats and dogs," He answered.

She gasped and threw the muffin at Maple. She got her phone put.

"I have to record this for the club. They'll love it!" She squealed, pushing past the small crowd that had formed.

"I'd have to go with Adrian. Dogs are better," Tara said.

"Well, yeah, you're like, part golden retriever," Soundwave joked, meaning that Tara can get really hyper. "I prefer cats myself."

Tara turned to him. "We'll discuss the future of this relationship later," She said darkly.

"Wait, what?" Soundwave asked.

"Oh, man, I dropped the muffin. Darn," Maple said. He secretly hated the muffins but didn't tell the club in fear of hurting their feelings.

"That's ok. Stacy's coming with a few more."

"Damn," Maple muttered.

Minutes passed, and Stacy came in with her big brother, who was an actual renegade.

She found Maple amongst the crowd and handed him some muffins. He sighed.

She saw Nova and Adrian on the floor with their books and laptops out.

"Ohhh! What's happening?" She asked.

"Nova and Adrian are arguing over whether or not cats or dogs are better," Oscar explained to the youngest Renegades Fan Club members.

"I like kitties!" Stacy exclaimed.

"Dogs are so much better," Her brother stated.

"What? We have a cat."

"Yeah. Mom and dad got a cat because you're their favorite. I viciously campaigned for a dog."

"I like dogs," Maple said.

"Good," A voice said behind him, and he saw the president of the Renegades Fan Club, Kennedy. They liked each other, though neither would admit it.

"I'm filming it to show the rest of the club!" Tara exclaimed.

"Good idea!"

Minutes passed and the council got involved.

"Jerry the doorman was getting really nervous with all the people in here," Simon said.

"Your son and Nova are arguing about which pet you guys should get." Luna said.

"Oh. Well, this is awkward. We already decided. We're getting a fish."

Nova and Adrian overheard and looked up.

"A fish?" Adrian asked.

"A fish?" Nova asked.

Simon nodded.

Adrian shut his laptop. Nova put hers in her bag.

"Well, I guess that's the end of that conversation." Nova said.

"Fish are cool, I guess," Adrian said.

"A FISH?" Everyone in the room exclaimed.

"They argued for an hour when you decided to get a fish?" Danna asked.

"I'm getting some froyo," Ruby said.

"I'm coming, too!" Oscar said.

"Let's go to the gym," Soundwave said to his team.

"Let's go home," Stacy said to her brother.

The group started to file out.

"Goldfish," Nova stated.

"No, beta," Adrian said.

So this was just a fun little pointless one-shot. If you don't understand any references, read my previous one-shots as I made several references to the past ones. Specifically, Movie Night (Osby) and my Soundwave series.

I'm more of a dog person myself, but I do like cats. I can go with both pets, honestly.

I hope you guys enjoyed. Though there was no direct romance, I still consider this playful competition Nodrian fluff. I hope to be writing more now that my writer's block is coming to an end. But I do get writer's block frequently so who knows when it will be back.

Anyway, keep reading!


	19. Flu Season (Osby)

Hey, readers.

So I'm pretty sure I have a cold.

Cold and Flu season is fun, huh?

Anyway, I can't miss my classes, so that's also fun.

So as I suffer, I also decided to think about happy things, like the lengths Oscar would go to when he found out that Ruby had a cold.

You know he so would. He has a caring soul.

Anyway, it's almost 1am at the time I am writing this and I have been having insomnia, so if there are grammar mistakes or spelling mistakes or typos please forgive me. I also don't bother to edit, ever, so... Yeah. Sorry in advance.

Oscar opened the door, making Mrs. Tucker jump.

"I heard Ruby is sick. Is she ok? Oh, I'm too late, aren't I! RUBY! YOU WERE TO YOUNG!"

"Mom, what is Oscar talking about?" Ruby asked from her room.

"Ruby! She's still alive! RUBY!"

"I was just heading out to grab some medicine and run a few errands. Could you take care of Ruby while I'm gone?" Mrs. Tucker asked, putting her coat and scarf on.

"Of course, Mrs. Tucker," Oscar replied.

Oscar rushed to Ruby's room. She was cozied up in bed, tissue boxes and cough drops scattered around her.

"Sterling and Jade both had the flu last week, and I caught it," Ruby said. "Don't come closer, you'll just get sick."

Oscar came prepared in case and tied a black bandana around his mouth.

"Do you need anything? Like water? Or tea?"

"No. I'm actually kind of tired. I think I'm gonna take a nap," Ruby replied.

Oscar sat in a chair next to her bed.

Ruby shut her eyes and Oscar picked up a book and began reading it.

An hour later, Ruby woke up. Mrs. Tucker was still out running errands.

"Your mom called and said she was caught up in some traffic, but she just has to get groceries and then she'll be home," Oscar said, putting the book down.

"Do you think you could grab some water for me?" Ruby asked, yawning.

"Of course," Oscar said.

He grabbed a glass of water for Ruby and then came back.

"Where's your grandma?" He asked.

"We didn't want her to get sick, since she's elderly so she's staying with one of her bingo friends until everyone in out family is not contagious. I'm thinking my mom will get the flu soon but my dad got the vaccine so after my mom she'll probably come back."

"Why didn't you get the vaccine?" Oscar asked. "They gave all the renegades an opportunity for a free vaccine. And if you missed that, Tara, from the Renegades fan club, was giving out rides to the clinic for all the renegades."

"Since my blood is... weird, I don't get vaccines because the doctors don't know how my body will react. I usually just rely on herd immunity. It didn't work this year because my mom never had time to get my brothers vaccinated before it was too late. Were you vaccinated?"

"No. My mom always needs the car. I begged her to get another one, but we can't afford it. I never made it in time. I got to the clinic a few minutes after they closed. Kinda glad I missed Tara's car ride. According to Danna, one of the members of the Renegades Fan Club has a band who sing about the renegades and that's the only music she would listen to. It got old after the third song that talked about how amazing the Renegades are." Oscar said, laughing.

And another source confirmed that Danna was not exaggerating.

"It's so weird," Ruby said.

"What is?"

"The whole flu thing. We are superheroes. We have powers. But we are no match against viruses. I can kick a villain in the face or maim them with a blood dagger but I can be struck down by the flu? Not fair," Ruby said.

Oscar shrugged. "I guess that's just how it is."

"You shouldn't even be here, Oscar. You're not vaccinated," Ruby repeated.

"I love you, Ruby." Oscar said. "I wasn't going to let you die alone."

"I don't think I'm going to... Wait... did you say you love me?"

"I did. Because I do." Oscar whispered. "I've been waiting for the right time to say it. But you're sick, so now is as good a time as any."

Ruby opened her mouth to say something, but the pair heard the front door open.

"I'm home!" Mrs. Tucker announced.

She bustled into Ruby's room. "I got the medicine."

She held a bottle of cough syrup up.

She opened the bottle and gave Ruby a capful.

Ruby swallowed and made a bitter face. "You'd think that living in a time with superpowers, they could make a better tasting cough syrup."

"Illnesses can befuddle even the smartest scientists," Mrs. Tucker said. "And there's no potion to cure them. Just science."

She turned to Oscar. "Thank you for visiting Ruby. I'm sure she appreciates it. She wouldn't shut up about your most recent date."

"Mom!" Ruby exclaimed, then fell into a coughing fit.

"Don't raise your voice, Ruby, it will only irritate your cough," Mrs. Tucker said.

Mrs. Tucker out some hand sanitizer on her hands. "I'm trying not to get sick," She explained, offering some to Oscar. He gladly took it.

"But between Jade, Sterling, and Ruby, it's probably inevitable."

"But you should go, Oscar, you still have a chance of not catching it," Mrs. Tucker said, eyeing the bandana around his mouth. "And looks like you were smarter than me, too."

"My dad used to get sick a lot before he died, so my mom taught me this trick." (A/N: We never heard about Oscar's dad, so I assume he's not in the picture, so I just made up this backstory, but it's non-canonical.)

Oscar's wristband beeped.

"Well, my mom's here, and she's my ride, so I'll see you later, Ruby."

"Bye, Oscar," Ruby said. "Oh, and, I, uh, I love you, too."

Oscar, at the door, turned around and saw Ruby blushing. Mrs. Tucker was beaming.

Oscar walked to his car, where his mom was waiting.

"Oh, you're smiling. I take it Ruby's ok, then?"

"No, she's still sick. But we both love each other." Oscar replied.

"Aww. Nothing's as sweet as the first 'I love you'," Oscar's mom said, smiling herself.

"I told you you'd get sick," Ruby said as Oscar's mom let her inside the house.

"Ruby offered to look after you while I go to work," Oscar's mom explained. "Isn't that sweet?"

"Well, at least I tried. I even took your mom's hand sanitizer."

"And she's the one who ended up not getting sick," Ruby laughed.

Ruby sat on a chair, next to the couch, where Oscar lay.

"Why aren't you in bed?" Ruby asked.

"There's no TV in my bedroom," He joked.

"I hope you don't mind, but I invited Danna over so we could watch _The Goblet of Fire_ together," Ruby said.

"Sounds great. As long as Danna doesn't mind being a third wheel," Oscar said. Ruby just laughed.

She put her palm on Oscar's forehead.

"You're burning up. I'll be right back."

She came back a minute later with a wet rag and draped it over his forehead.

"There," She said. She kissed his cheek.

"You do that again and I'll get even hotter," Oscar joked. Ruby gave him a playful little slap.

"Well, you're obviously not sick enough to be your usual self," Ruby replied.

A few minutes later, Danna arrived and Ruby put _The Goblet of Fire_ on.

"This is nice," Oscar said, with Ruby next to him on the chair and Danna in the recliner.

"Oh, Adrian and Nova are coming over, too. They're worried."

Adrian and Nova arrived twenty minutes later, and Adrian insisted on bringing his new goldfish.

"I don't trust the new fish-sitter. Who is actually Max." Adrian said when Danna questioned it.

"This is cramped," Oscar said, as they squeezed into his living room as Ruby took the movie off of pause.

They had a marathon that day, and even Adrian's fish seemed to enjoy it.

And done. It took me three days to write that, but the good news is, aside from a runny nose and a cough, I think my cold is gone. I usually don't even get sick, as my immune system is extremely strong, so I wonder how this one slipped through the cracks.

Anyway, I'm feeling a lot better. This isn't my best work, but I like it. I think it's cute. I tried to add the romance, with Oscar and Ruby exchanging "I love you", and it turned out really cute.

Remember, as flu season starts, to get vaccines! Flus are the worst type of illness because of the duration and the symptoms, so protect yourself. Don't be like Oscar (though it's not entirely his fault).

Anyway, until next time,

Keep reading!


	20. Adrian's Trials

This is how I imagine Adrian's trials went. I will be doing this for every character except Nova. This is all fiction and absolutely no part of this is canon because Marissa has not elaborated on how the trials went for any character except Nova.

I know what you may be thinking: Kennedy, isn't Adrian a team leader? Are we even sure he had a trial?

No, we're not sure. But I imagine, to become a leader, he had to prove himself one way or another. I'm sure he had some kind of trial.

I have included Maple (Oliver) because I wanted to offer some background to the friendship between Adrian and Oliver.

*The characters are at a Leader's Only Audition*

*They are sixteen, takes place two years before the books*

"I'm so excited," Maple said.

"You're my friend and all, Oliver, but are you sure you have what it takes to be leader?"

"Of course I do! My mom was a renegade and a team leader until the accident. I'm just like her!"

Maple was nothing like his mother. They didn't have the same power and his mother was much smarter than him.

Adrian shrugged.

He knew the arena was small. He also knew only special people were allowed in. This is the Leader's Trials.

Adrian's dads didn't give him special treatment. They said that he must audition like the rest of the team leaders had to. He stood behind a girl named Luna with Maple behind him. Luna had an interesting power. She was short and small, but she was fierce. Her parents knew she was different when she was born because she came out with silver hair, kind of like an anime character. Her parents named her Luna because her hair color made them think of the moon.

Several months later, when she was sleeping in her crib, her mom came to check on her and realized that she was emitting a blinding white light. She was auditioning because her light could blind enemies and proved to be useful in combat. If she weren't auditioning to be a leader, Adrian would have asked her to join his team.

Well, his future team. With only one member. Himself. He'd have plenty of chances to get new members once he established himself as a leader.

"My buddy, Jesse, thinks I'm so cool. He has powers, too. But he's only fifteen so he can't join the Renegades yet.

Adrian and Oliver knew watch other from school. Adrian always admired Oliver's sense of humor, but the kid wasn't very smart. He also thought he was more team member than team leader. But he wasn't about to insult his friend.

When Luna was confirmed to be a leader, Adrian entered the arena.

The council was there, sitting in large chairs, like gods on Mount Olympus (Percy Jackson was my first serious fandom, so I had to reference the Greek gods at some point). Adrian saw a small group of teenagers who were wearing blazers and button-down blouses. One even held a notebook. They wore fake news station lanyards with fake IDs. He knew they were fake because the oldest girl didn't look a day over sixteen. He wondered how the council let them pass.

There was a group of healers, ready to step in if things went awry. There was another small group of older team leaders who looked to be middle-aged and have probably been a leader since the beginning. And then of course, real news people. Adrian admitted that the fakers were convincing. The real news people looked just like them, just older.

"Name?' Blacklight asked.

"Adrian Everhart," Adrian announced.

"Ok, Adrian. What is your power?"

"I can make the things I draw come to life."

He drew a sword on the floor and pulled it up.

He heard a few impressed sounds coming from all groups.

He sparred a bit with a dummy, showing that he at least had basic skills. He also drew shields and daggers and such, showing that he could make a weapon on short notice.

Since the trials were less publicized, the council had to be careful on who they let become team leaders, so they had Adrian fight the previous contestant, Luna.

Adrian was a little nervous, as Luna was not only a human LED light, but she was a skilled swordswoman, too, and Adrian wasn't that good with the dueling part.

Adrian drew himself a sword and a shield, and Luna picked out a sword from the weaponry display.

Luna was going easy on him, but not too easy. But it was enough to help him get by.

They sparred, clangs of the swords filling the near empty arena.

Adrian used his shield often, using it to block Luna's relentless jabs.

Luna and him sparred for what seemed like a good thirty minutes. Adrian was drenched with sweat, and Luna appeared to be the same way.

Finally, Adrian distracted Luna and expelled her weapon from her hands.

Luna seemed surprised, but said "Good work, Everhart."

Adrian breathed a sigh of relief as Luna exited.

The council talked among each other, as did the middle-aged team leaders.

The team leaders were first to announce the decision.

A team member, Adrian recognized as a former classmate's mom, was the representative.

"We have decided that Adrian Everhart should be a team leader," She stated.

Simon spoke next. "The Council has also come to that conclusion. Adrian Everhart, you are now a recognized team leader."

Adrian went to the hall and waited to be called back in to duel with Oliver.

Oliver was a good dueler, but Adrian still didn't think he was leader material.

Adrian waited for ten minutes, and the was called back in to duel with Oliver.

The sparred, this one was much shorter than Adrian and Luna's.

Adrian did go easy on Oliver, because he liked Oliver and knew that being a team leader was his dream. He wanted to be like his mom. His dad was also a renegade, but he wasn't a team leader, and for Oliver, being just a teammate like his dad wasn't enough.

The duel ended when Adrian struck Oliver in the chest. Of course, the blade had rubber covers, so it didn't actually hurt Oliver.

"Good job, Oliver," He said. Oliver nodded.

Adrian left before the council made their decision.

An hour after Oliver's turn, the trials were over.

Adrian stuck around because his dads were his ride home.

As he left one of the practice rooms, he saw Oliver sitting on a bench, face in his hands, clearly crying.

A brunette girl his age was patting his back and saying soothing words.

It was one of the fake news station girls. The oldest one, Adrian assumed.

He approached them.

"What happened?"

"Oliver wasn't accepted as a team leader," The girl spoke. Oliver cried harder. She continued to rub his back.

"Oh..."

'This is all your fault, Adrian," Oliver cried.

"Oliver, what did I say about waiting until you're calm to talk to Adrian?"

"Shut up! I don't even know you!" Oliver yelled.

The girl gasped in surprise.

In a second, it looked like she was about to cry.

"Let me talk to him," Adrian said, zooming in on her name tag. "Molly Weasley? I'm almost certain that's not your real name..."

Instead of answering, she briskly walked away. Adrian heard small crying sounds as she was walking away.

"Who was she?" Adrian asked.

"I don't know her. She saw I was sad and started to comfort me." Oliver replied.

"I know you're upset, Oliver, but she was trying to be kind. You had no right to talk to her like that."

"All my life, Adrian. I wanted to be a team leader, like my mom. And the council said I wouldn't make a good leader. All because I lost the duel."

"That's not true. Allen lost a duel but was still accepted to be a leader. So did Lucy. The duel isn't the determining factor."

"Then why wasn't I accepted, Adrian?"

"Your power probably isn't as useful..."

"You draw things! How is your power better than mine? This is all your fault! You beat me in the duel. You could have let me win!"

"I believe in integrity, Oliver." Adrian said.

Oliver shook his head. "I'm worthless. How do I go home and tell my mom that I'm not a team leader?"

"Come on, you can still be a renegade! Just not a team leader."

"That council said the same thing. They said they'd think I'd make a good team member, just not a leader."

That didn't surprise Adrian. He figured he didn't become a leader because the guy has the IQ of a brick. Not because he lost a duel. He knew for a fact Oliver was a strong dueler, but to be a leader, you gotta be smart, too, and make decisions for your team.

"You cane become a renegade. And who knows? Maybe your buddy will end up on the same team as you. And, hey, if you audition, I'll gladly let you on my team."

"Really?"

"For sure, Oliver. You're the coolest guy I know."

Oliver smiled.

As they walked out of the building, Oliver and Adrian noticed the girl who was with Oliver earlier sitting on the stairs leading up to the building. She was no longer crying, but it was obvious she was by the way her eyes were still wet and bloodshot.

But now, she just looked miserable and hurt.

"I think you need to talk to her." Adrian said.

Oliver nodded and took a seat next to her.

Adrian walked down the stairs and joined his dads at the car.

"Ill have my very own team," Adrian said, looking pleased.

So I don't know if I'll write a one-shot explaining this, but the idea is that Oliver joined Adrian's team, and then, once Soundwave became a team leader, Oliver switched to his team.

Anyway, I know this isn't fluff or romance, but I feel like this story has become more of a mixed bag rather than a ships fanfiction. I thought the Trials of the other members would be an interesting take, but I promise that I am not done writing fluff about my ships.

In fact, I am in the process of rewriting Grade School Osby.

So never fear! There will be romance!

Until my next update,

Keep reading!


	21. Support (Nodrian, Spoilers)

_This has major spoilers for Supernova, so please please please don't read this if you haven't read the last book yet. You can always come back and read this after you finish._

_So it has recently been brought to my attention that some of my chapters have been glitchy. Thank you, Guest, so I have fixed those, at least, I think I have, so hopefully those are readable now. I am so sorry about that, I had no idea. I don't know what happens when I copy and paste it and why it's only that way for certain chapters._

_Disclaimer: Mentions of PTSD, mental illness, and trauma and other sad stuff. If this stuff triggers you, please don't read._

"Adrian, I told you, leave the fish at home." Nova said. She was standing at Adrian's door, ready to go to a movie they both wanted to see at the movie theater.

"But she needs a babysitter." Adrian argued.

"Then let Max watch him." Nova suggested.

"I don't trust Max," Adrian replied.

"Adrian, we can't go into a movie with a goldfish in a fishbowl." Nova stated.

"There's no rule against it."

"Because it's an unspoken rule." Nova said, trying really hard not to roll her eyes.

"Well, unless they specifically tell me no, she's coming with." Adrian insisted.

"Fine! We better get going now, since we're inevitably going to have to come all the way back here to put your fish back."

As Nova bought the tickets, the ticket person looked at Adrian.

"Sir, I don't think pets are allowed."

"This sign says no dogs," Adrian said. "Georgia is a fish."

"But..." The ticket guy started, but quickly realized that he didn't really have an argument.

Nova was beyond embarrassed.

"Come on, Adrian," She said, taking his wrist.

"Nova, I know you wants this to be a date, but I don't think it would be a good idea for us to sit net to each other. Georgia should sit in the middle." Adrian said.

"Adrian, she's a _fish._ Can't you just keep her in your lap?" Nova asked.

"No! She deserves a seat." Adrian insisted.

"I only bought two tickets." Nova argued.

"Nova! I told you to buy three. Hold Georgia while I go buy another ticket." Adrian said.

"What am I doing?" She asked Georgia. "I'm holding a fishbowl in the middle of a movie theater lobby. Why?"

She sighed.

"Because I love that idiot."

"Nova? Why do you have a fish? Isn't that Adrian's fish?" Danna asked as she, Ruby, and Oscar walked into the lobby.

"Adrian didn't trust Max to babysit?" Ruby asked. Nova nodded.

"What are you doing here?" Nova inquired.

"We weren't seeing the latest Twilight remake or anything," Ruby lied.

Adrian spotted Nova and approached the group.

"One ticket for Twilight." Adrian said.

"I didn't get tickets for Twilight." Nova stated.

"What?" Adrian asked. "I thought we decided on Twilight." Adrian said.

"No, Adrian, I told you that I'd rather let that assassin, who killed my family, kill me," Nova replied.

"Oh, wow, harsh... My dads are big Twilight fans and..."

"Just... Ugh! Just forget it!" Nova exclaimed, handing Adrian his fish and storming out of the movie theater.

"Nova!"

"So, did you guys want to watch _My Little Pony_ next or what?" Oscar asked.

"I'll go buy the tickets," Danna said.

Adrian thrust the fishbowl in Ruby's hands.

"Watch Georgia for me!"

"Or not," Ruby said.

"Eh, the fish can join us," Danna said.

Adrian looked for Nova.

Unfortunately, he didn't see the direction she went in.

He wasn't sure why she was so bothered.

He knew his attachment to his fish was abnormal, but he named the fish Georgia, after his mother, and ever since then, he had trouble leaving her alone.

He saw Nova sitting on a bench.

"Nova?"

She looked at him, and then looked down.

He sat down next to her.

"Is it the fish?" He asked.

Nova shook her head.

"Your relationship to the fish is strange, but it's not that."

"Then what is it?" Adrian said. "If it's Twilight, I've never actually seen the movie so I'm not a fan or..."

"I feel like we've been out of sync lately," Nova sighed.

Adrian cocked his head to the side.

"Why?"

"I told you I didn't want to see Twilight. Honey loved the book and the old movies. And she made me watch it and I hated it. She would have wanted to see the remakes, too, and she would have made me watch it, and I would hate it but also love it because Honey loved it. In the end, she was crazy, and horrible, but she was still like a mother to me. And I killed her."

"Ok, so maybe I misunderstood you, but that doesn't mean we're out of sync," Adrian said. He put his hand on her shoulder. She shrugged his arm off of her.

"Adrian, it's so much more. I've been acting differently. I've been going through a personal hell. I had three mental breakdowns yesterday because I saw a bee. I can't... I just... You didn't know! You didn't even notice!" Nova cried.

Adrian looked at his hands.

"I have noticed, Nova. You live at my house. How could I not? But I figured that you didn't want to talk about it. You hate having people see you when you're vulnerable. I thought you'd just push me away again." Adrian stated. "I wanted to give you space. Because I want to see you heal. Because I love you."

Nova began to let tears stream down her face. "I still don't sleep, Adrian. I still get nightmares, but instead of seeing my family die, I see myself pulling the trigger. I see Honey sink to the floor. I see Ace falling to his death. And then I feel so guilty because he was bad, they were bad, and I shouldn't feel sorry for him or be sad because he ruined my life. But he raised me. After mama and papa and Evie... he took me. He raised me. He didn't love me. He wanted my powers, but I... I loved him. I loved Honey. I loved Winston. I loved Leroy. And I lost them all."

"You didn't lose Leroy," Adrian said.

"I haven't seen him yet. He might as well be dead."

Adrian was speechless. Nova has been hurting for a long time, and Adrian just let it happen. He had no idea that her wounds were this deep.

"Nova, we'll get you help. You have me. You have my dads. You have Ruby, Danna, Oscar, and Max. We'll all here for you. And you'll get better. Someday. It won't be soon, because you went through a lot. But I promise I will be there every step of the way. And I will give you all the space you need or none at all. Just tell me next time. I need to know that you won't push me away. And that you'll communicate. I'm so sorry, Nova. I never meant to abandon you."

Nova's tears stopped.

"Thank you, Adrian." She said.

He just put his arm around her and tugged her closer, so he held her tight, so she would never feel alone again.

So I made myself cry.

I have been going through a rough patch, too, and I knew that after Supernova, Nova would have a lot of feelings to sort through. I didn't murder my surrogate mother or watch my uncle die, but I did lose someone in a sense. They didn't die, but I barely talk to them anymore, and I've been feeling the same things Nova is feeling. Guilt, shame, sadness, which is why I didn't update for the longest time. I figured that after the battle, she would feel emotions similar to mine, so that's what I wrote. It's truly an inner conflict for her, and for me, too.

I'm not a psychologist, but I did minor in it, and my minor is finished, so I know some. I know enough to know what mental illnesses look like.

Nova has PTSD in the books, her nightmares and flashbacks are enough evidence for that, and the Second Battle of Gatlon would only exacerbate her mental illness. I felt like it needed to be addressed. Because mental illness is no joke. And if the person doesn't have support, it can ruin their lives. And Nova deserves happiness after all she went through.

So, here you go. A heartbreaking one-shot.

And even though it's sad, it's still romance, so this is a win for me.

If you cried, well, I'm sorry, but that also means it worked.

Hopefully, the next one will be happier.

Until my next update,

Keep reading!


	22. Sharing a Sundae (Nodrian, Spoilers)

This chapter includes spoilers for all three books. It is one of my favorites. (I know I say that a lot, what can I say? I love Nodrian and Osby.)

"I'm bored," Nova said, lying on Adrian's couch.

He was sitting on the floor, sketching a cat.

"What are you doing?" Nova asked.

"Drawing you as an animal." Adrian replied.

"Why is there a dog trying to get Cat Me's attention?"

"That's me as an animal."

"Adrian, we live in the same house now. You're the only thing I pay attention to sometimes. 'Oh, Nova, you haven't hugged me in a minute' or "It's been three seconds since you last kissed me', and my personal favorite 'I'm gonna draw Nova without her consent because she's cute'."

"You are cute!"

"But you have a million portraits of me. It's bordering on creepy. Start drawing your fish."

"At least I don't make the portraits of you come to life," Adrian said.

"That would be even creepier. And if you ever do, I'm breaking up with you."

Adrian chuckled and closed his sketchbook.

"My dads and Max carpooled with Thunderbird to the baseball game, so we can go for a drive and look for something to do," Adrian offered.

"Better than sitting around," Nova said, standing up.

Adrian took the keys from the hook by the door and unlocked the car door.

"Can you believe that they used to use fossils fuels to make these things work?" Nova asked as Adrian adjusted the solar panels. The car used electricity as backup if the sun wasn't out. But luckily it was a beautiful day and the sun would provide them energy.

"Yeah. Almost killed the planet, too. I'm glad they stopped before the ruined the planet completely. We fixed what we could but there's still a lot to do to nurse Mother Earth back to health," Adrian said. (I'm sorry, I am an environment-loving/eco-friendly person and couldn't help myself).

Adrian drove the car around for about twenty minutes. Nova wished that she knew how to drive a car. Simon and Hugh have talked about teaching her, so maybe that's something she needed to ask about again.

"Hey, look at this place," Nova said, spotting a small sign.

It read "Sweet Treats" and nothing more.

"Super creative name," Adrian joked.

Nova scoffed.

"Looks like the bulk of their sweets is ice cream," She said, looking through the windows.

"Let's try it out," Adrian said, pulling into the parking lot.

The place was small, and when Nova entered, it gave her a before-the-first-battle vibe. Before war completely took over the city.

"It's been open since 2010," Adrian said, looking at a sign.

"Wow. That's pretty old," (I always thought the Renegades took place in the future, so 2010 would be old for them).

"Opened by my great-great grandmother," A voice said. She was a middle-aged woman. She wore an apron with a long-sleeved shirt and jeans on. "It's been in the family for four generations." (I think I got the math right, but it was never my strong suit.) Her name tag read Ambrosia.

Adrian and Nova took a look at the menu, and then the ice cream in the display case in front of them.

"All ice cream is hand-made here, in the back room. My son was mostly in charge of that," Ambrosia said. "But I had to hire another girl because he's a renegade now."

She looked at them.

"Oh! You're Nova and Adrian! You probably know my son. His name is Jesse. His alias is Soundwave. He's in back training the new girl at this very moment."

"Oh, yeah, I like him. He gave me a kale smoothie once." Nova said.

Running a shop must be hard, especially in an old building like this.

"How did this survive the battle?" Nova asked.

"I know, it's a miracle. That happened when my mother was still in charge and I was still an underling. We had to do a lot of reconstruction, but managed to save the building's integrity," Ambrosia said.

"Are you the owner/manager now?"

"Yep, my mother is happily retired now. She took an early retirement." The shop owner explained.

"It's a really nice place," Nova stated, looking around at the polaroid pictures of happy customers and pictures of the family as they grew throughout the four generations. The last picture was one of Ambrosia, her son and her daughter, Jesse's older sister.

"Thank you, Nova. Oh! How rude of me! Would you like to sample any of the ice cream? Many of the flavors are unique to my family and this shop."

"What's in this Ambrosia?" Adrian asked, the name was what caught his eye. "Isn't ambrosia food of the gods or something?"

"Yes, but it's also an old American desert. My mother invented that recipe shortly after I was born. She loved food-themed names so she named me Ambrosia, which gave her an idea to convert the traditional dessert into an ice cream flavor. I tried to change the name, because having people asking for your namesake is kind of weird, but people kept asking for "ambrosia", so I changed it back. It has pineapple and mandarin orange chunks, with marshmallow fluff and pecans mixed in. There's a hint of coconut flavor, too. It's a little thicker than the other ice creams. Usually, I make it into a sundae and add whipped cream to make it more similar to the traditional dessert. It doesn't taste the same as ambrosia, because ambrosia is a fruit salad and this is ice cream, but it's close."

"Can we sample it?" Adrian asked.

The woman nodded and got out two sample cups and put a small spoonfuls in each cup.

Adrian and Nova each took a bite.

Nova's eyes widened and Adrian gasped.

"That is really good," Nova said.

"Yeah," Adrian agreed.

He looked at the prices.

The price seemed a little high, even for unique ice cream flavors, but probably because she had more competition and less customers, since it was locally owned and a kind of hole-in-the-wall place.

Nova mentally counted the money she knew she had in her wallet. Adrian did the same.

"Mom!" A voice said.

Ambrosia looked to the source.

"Annie made a mistake and there's an open bag of pecans on the floor," Jesse said.

"I told you to help her carry the heavy things!"

"Pecans aren't that heavy," Jesse argued.

"Maybe not to you, Mr. Renegade," The woman sighed.

"Help these customers while I calm the poor girl down," Ambrosia said, hearing quiet crying from the girl in the back room.

Jesse looked at the pair and his face paled.

"Um, hello, Nova. Adrian." He said.

"Hi, Soundwave!" Nova said.

"Hello," Adrian said a little quieter.

"I didn't know your mom worked here." Nova said. "Of course, nobody really knows much about your mom except that she's a little overprotective."

"Yeah, most people don't know about this place or about my family, really. But this place has been in our family for a long time and she loves it. Plus, she's a single mom and it makes enough to keep our family afloat, which is convenient. If my mom had to close it and take a better-paying job, she'd be devastated."

"Form what your mom was saying, it seems that only women have owned this place."

"Yep. My sister is getting her college degree in business so she can someday take over and keep our family's legacy going. I was told as a child I could never own it, so I'm glad I was accepted as a renegade. I still help out sometimes, but it's more my sister's thing. She loves this place almost as much as my mom does."

"It's a nice place. That ambrosia is amazing," Adrian said.

"Yeah, that's Tara's favorite, too. She was going here long before we started dating." Jesse said.

Adrian thought he was acting a little strange. He knew Jesse didn't particularly like him. There was once a fight that involved Oliver, a friend of both of them, but he thought they were good now. Besides, it was over a year ago.

"Jesse, you're not still mad about Oliver, are you? Because Oliver said it was all good now..."

"No, I'm not mad..."

"Wait, what happened?" Nova asked, totally in the dark. "Isn't Oliver that really dumb guy who likes vegetable muffins?"

"Yeah, he used to be on my team..."

"Nobody told me?"

"Look, can we just stop talking about that?" Jesse asked, a little uncomfortable.

"Yeah, sorry, man. How much money do you have? I can only afford one sundae," Adrian said, turning to Nova.

"I have one dollar and two cents," Nova announced.

"Well, I guess we could share. Sharing a sundae is basically borderline kissing," Adrian said. "And we've done that before."

Jesse squirmed, feeling more uncomfortable by the minute.

"Adrian, I think we're making Jesse feel awkward," Nova said.

"Right. Um, one ambrosia sundae," He said.

Jesse got to work making the sundae, glad that it kept him from seeing Adrian and Nova give each other that look.

He was dating Tara, and he didn't like Nova anymore. There was still a little leftover jealousy. The fact that Adrian, the Renegades Golden Boy, once again, got everything he wanted.

Whenever a new reporter interviews a team about some crime or criminal caught, they go to Sketch's team. It's always Sketch this, Sketch that. It made Jesse furious.

Jesse handed them the ice cream while Adrian pushed the money – exact change – towards Jesse.

Adrian and Nova sat down, digging into the sundae.

Oliver and a smaller kid ran into the building.

"My team won the soccer tournament!" The kid exclaimed, running straight to Jesse.

Adrian recognized Oliver. The younger kid must be the cousin who plays soccer that Oliver constantly brags about. The guy deserves to brag, though. He coaches the team.

"We were just talking about him..." Nova said.

"That's a story for another day, Nova," Adrian said, knowing where Nova was headed.

"Hi, Oliver," Adrian said.

"Hey, Adrian! I guess everyone decided to come here, today. I saw Tara heading in," Oliver said just as the girl made her appearance.

"She almost broke up with me because I preferred cats," Jesse said.

"I like dogs," The young kid said.

"Everyone in our family does," Oliver stated.

Jesse and Oliver began talking amongst themselves, so Nova and Adrian focused on their ice cream.

"I'm glad we found this place. This ice cream is the best I've ever tasted." Adrian said.

Ambrosia came out of the backroom, and Jesse quickly went back, probably to get away from Nova and Adrian.

"Hey, Oliver, can I talk to you?" Adrian called as Oliver's little cousin was busy making a decision about what he wanted.

"Sure," Oliver said.

"Jesse's been acting strange, lately," Adrian said.

"Oh," Oliver said, showing no emotion.

"Would you happen to know why?"

Oliver sighed.

"I'm telling you this because you're my friend, Adrian. So Jesse might have had a little crush on Nova and he wanted her on our team. He's still kind of mad that she chose you." Oliver replied.

"After all we've been through, Jesse should be able to see that I obviously belong with Adrian."

"He does, I think he's still mad that Adrian seems to get whatever he wants. It's kind of true, Adrian," Oliver stated. 'But you deserve it, Adrian. Don't pay attention to him. I've been friends with him for a long time and I can tell you that it probably won't affect your life that much. He wouldn't try to steal Nova, and he has Tara now."

"I want the peanut butter ice cream, Ollie!" The kid stated.

"Well, duty calls. I promised him ice cream if he won the game today."

Nova looked at Adrian, who seemed bothered.

She tried to distract him.

"Oscar would love this place," She said.

"We should invite the rest of the group here next weekend. We can't be greedy and keep this place to ourselves. Plus, Ambrosia is nice and deserves the customers. And maybe, Jesse will start to warm up to me."

The finished their shared sundae and headed to the car.

"Nova, why did you choose my group? Was it really just because I was Simon and Hugh's son?"

"At first, yeah. But as I got to know you, I realized that you were a cool, sweet guy, and I started to like you." Nova replied. "You were the only person who kept me from having nightmares when I slept. This isn't about who I was before the second battle, it's about who I am now, and the person I am now is totally, without a doubt, head over heels in love with you. I never would have picked Jesse over you."

Nova knew she sounded gross and cheesy, bur Adrian ate this stuff up, and she loved seeing him smile.

All throughout the car ride, his smile didn't fade.

So I have had this idea floating in my brain for awhile, and I love this was fun to write. I love creating new characters and Ambrosia was fun to create.

I involved Jesse and Oliver because I want to demonstrate the connectedness of my OCs (make them seem like an actual part of the story instead of a one-time character) and the original characters and illustrate their complex relationships and kind of delve deeper into those. Jesse and Adrian definitely aren't fans of each other.

I plan on explaining a little more on Oliver's part in their dislike of each other in a later chapter but haven't gotten to that yet.

Ok, that is all!

Until next time,

Keep reading!


	23. What to Expect When You're Expecting 1

*Contains implied Supernova Spoilers*

Dedicated to Adrian_nova_forever (for some reason it won't let me tag the user) (user is from wattpad)

Prompt: "I was wondering if you could write one where (in the future) nova is expecting and surprises Adrian on there anniversary as a "gift" ?"

Due to all the research I did, I'm pretty sure my laptop now thinks I'm pregnant. But please never put me in charge of a child. I can barely take care of myself. Also, I've never been pregnant, so I tried my best using research but no experience.

I am telling you right now that I was super excited to write this. Thanks for the request, and please, keep them coming!  
-

Nova held the test in her hands.

The pink plus sign blurred in and out of her vision.

She would have to quit the renegades for nine months and maybe then some. Adrian and her would have to move. She would be a mother. He would be a father.

The baby would turn her life upside down.

And yet, she was excited.

Adrian and Nova, though married for about a year, weren't actively trying, and honestly, it was almost always unprotected, but still, conceiving a child had never seemed like a very possible situation to them.

At first, she was constantly tired, though her sleep schedule remained the same. So she dis things like cut down caffeine and eat healthier. It didn't work, but Nova decided it wasn't a big deal and kind of just let it fix itself.

Then came her mood swings. She was sad, irritated, and/or angry, like, all the time.

One time, Adrian was eating a nice meal he had cooked for the both of them.

But Nova couldn't enjoy her meal because Adrian's fork kept scratching the plate.

Adrian did this all the time, and it hadn't bothered Nova until recently.

"Adrian, please stop scraping your fork against the plate," Nova said finally.

"Oh, sorry, Nova. I didn't know it bothered you," Adrian said.

Nova looked at him.

He didn't even put up a fight.

"What?" He asked.

"You're just... You're so nice," She said, tears pricking in her eyes.

"Nova, are you ok?"

Nova shook her head and continued to eat.

Then, a few hours after dinner, she and Adrian were watching a movie, and the cat that Adrian had gotten her as a wedding gift curled up next to Adrian.

Nova stared at the cat in dismay and started to cry.

"Nova, sweetie, what's wrong?"

"The cat likes you more than she likes me," Nova sobbed.

"Nova, that's not true. The cat hates me."

"Then why is she curled up next to you?"

"Trying to find my weak spot and make me let my guard down," Adrian replied. "She's had it out for me. She knows I'm a... dog person." He whispered the last two words.

When Nova didn't smile, Adrian knew something was wrong.

There were other, similar instances. Something small Adrian did made her irritable, or she was angry at him for small things, or she started to cry for the smallest of reasons. Not only did they happen, but her mood also changed weirdly fast. Like, one minute she'd be crying, and the next, she was ready to sucker punch someone.

Then, the cravings happened.

She wanted steak and ice cream.

Not separately. Together.

She and Adrian were walking out of the Renegades Headquarters, hand in hand.

"Any ideas for dinner?" Adrian asked. "We need to go to the store anyways and we could pick up some nice beef or something."

"Steak," Nova said instantly. "Oh! And vanilla bean ice cream. And sour patch kids. And peanut butter,"

"Ok," Adrian said, a little surprised.

"Chocolate. Dark and milk chocolate. Oh, God, Adrian, don't forget the chocolate,"

"You can come with me," Adrian said.

"Yes. I'm coming with. I'm driving, too."

"What, Nova, no..."

But she was already in the driver's seat.

They managed to narrowly avoid an accident with Nova's reckless and nightmarish driving and got to the store.

Nova promptly grabbed a cart and walked in, Adrian struggling to keep up.

In the store, Nova paused when she saw a familiar face. The person was also pregnant.

Kennedy Smith, the former president of the Renegades Fan Club was shopping with her husband, Oliver, better known by his renegade name, Maple.

She saw a lot of peanut butter and chocolate in their cart.

Nova then wondered.

Could she possibly? No. No. No, right? No.

"Hey, Oliver. What's up?" Adrian asked.

"Not much. Except that she's mad at me, like, every day. She says I'm dumb. Can you believe that?"

Adrian and Nova could both believe that, but they weren't about to tell Oliver that.

"All she wants is chocolate with caramel centers and peanut butter. And occasionally raw meat. I never give her the raw meat. The doctor thinks she's anemic and that's why she wants raw protein. It's really weird. She put gummy bears in chili. And we've gone through at least five pounds of gummy bears since she found out she was pregnant."

"Oliver, come on. There's a sale on gummy bears," The woman said.

"Oh no," Oliver moaned.

"Oh! Hi, Nova! How's my second favorite renegade?" Kennedy asked, spotting the former villain-turned-hero.

"I'm hungry," Nova replied.

"Oh, me, too. All the time," She said, looking down. She was about four months along. The bump was definitely noticeable, but it wasn't that big.

"I'm getting that penguin walk down for when I start wobbling," Kennedy said, demonstrating it.

Nova giggled.

"Anyway, we have ten bags of gummy bears to get. Come along, Oliver," Kennedy said, dragging her husband away.

"Ten?!" He exclaimed, to which he earned a sharp "Oh, shush!" from his wife.

That encounter was definitely one of the reasons she decided to buy a pregnancy test a few weeks later.

Because all Nova ever wanted was peanut butter, steak, and ice cream.

When her and Adrian got the groceries and cooked the steaks up, Nova got the ice cream out of the fridge and plopped two scoops on her steak.

Adrian gave her a horrified look.

"What?" She asked.

"Isn't that a little... I don't know, gross?"

She shrugged. "It sounds really good," She replied.

Adrian just shrugged as she ate.

"Is it good, Nova, sweetie?"

"It's delicious," Nova said, a little surprised herself.

For the last few weeks, she's been wanting peanut butter and other protein-packed foods. And a weird yearning for raw meat...

And then, there was the nausea.

Random times throughout the day, she would just randomly have a really bad stomachache or the urge to vomit. That, combined with headaches and what she was pretty sure was bloating, made for a perfect storm of pain.

And a couple times, she did, and on those days, Adrian promptly sent her home and checked in on her via phone or even physically traveling to the house to make sure she was ok.

That's what happened today. Instead of going to straight home, she was tired of this, and decided to see if she was pregnant. Cause if she wasn't, she needed to speak to her doctor.

In fact, Nova realized, now that she knew periods were supposed to come at the same time, she was supposed to start hers three days ago. She could have chalked all her symptoms up as PMS, but missing her period? That was definitely a pregnancy thing.

As she waited for the test to give her answers, she sat on the toilet and started putting together all her symptoms thus far.

· Fatigue

· Mood swings

· Food cravings (and weird ones, at that)

· Nausea

· Headaches

· Bloating.

As Nova went through the symptoms from a website on her phone, she realized that she was having more than she realized.

She needed to pee a lot ore often then what was usual for her. She also had a lot of back pain. She cried a lot. Sometimes for no reason, so it wasn't like a mood swing, just random crying.

And as the test was almost done, Nova realized that she was almost positive that she was carrying the next Everhart.

She picked up the test from it's position, hovering over the sink, and blinked a few times.

She saw the clear pink plus sign.

There was no doubt. The test said it might be faded, but that it would still be a positive. But hers wasn't faded. It was clear as day.

She was carrying a baby.

Hey ya!

I decided to split this into two parts so it could be Nova finding out in part one and then her telling Adrian in part two. Plus it's starting to get long.

I did indeed finish this before I started the next one, but I decided to release them both at the same time so you guys don't have to suffer.

Because I've been playing a lot of sims (any other simmers out there?)

And I knew that it was a very real possibility that I would totally forget about writing this and play sims instead.

This... This is why I shouldn't be trusted with a child. And hopefully, I won't be for a long time.

Anyway, I really enjoyed writing this and I hope you enjoyed it, too.

Until next chapter... which is probably already up by the time you are reading this...

Keep reading!


	24. What to Expect When You're Expecting 2

*Contains implied Supernova Spoilers*

This one is also dedicated to Adrian_nova_forever and a continuation of the last chapter.

"Nova? Are you well enough for our anniversary dinner?" Adrian asked on his way home.

Shucks. Nova forgot that today marked their first marriage anniversary.

Adrian had reserved a table at a fancy restaurant three weeks in advance.

Her hands shook. The test was still in her hands.

Adrian had called a few minutes after she saw the test and she was still trying to wrap her head around the whole life growing inside of her thing.

"Um, yeah. It's still on," Nova said.

She hung up and went to get Adrian's gift.

She put the cap back on the part of the stick that she peed on and put it in the box.

Then, quickly, she wrapped the box in wrapping paper and decided that she wanted Adrian to find out that way.

She was scared, and she knew that Adrian probably would be, too. But she knew Adrian, and she knew that underneath the fear and panic, or, perhaps over the fear and panic, he'd be elated. He'd be absolutely ecstatic.

Nova got into a nice blue sweater dress with black leggings. She wore the diamond necklace that Adrian had got her years ago on their first dating anniversary, and a pair of earrings that Simon and Hugh had given to her as an engagement gift.

She waited for Adrian to get home. He only had thirty minutes to get into a suit before they had to get there. Adrian decided to just schedule that reservation because it was the only spot available for that day and it was hard enough getting a reservation there in that week.

Adrian came in, making quite a ruckus, and quickly changed and put some cologne on.

Nova grabbed her satchel (that she claimed passed as a purse) and Adrian made sure he had his wallet, they both grabbed the gifts they got for one another, and HE drove to the restaurant.

He wanted them to get there in one piece.

Adrian went up to the hostess and announced his name and that he had reserved a table.

"There's no reservation here for Adrian Everhart," The woman said.

"Um, ok. Try Nova Everhart. I might have used her name or something."

"There's no Everhart. Let me look at the schedule."

The woman looked at the schedule.

"There's a reservation for Adrian Everhart for next month at this time."

"Oh, I must have said May second instead of April. I'm sorry, Nova," Adrian stated.

"It's ok, Adrian," Nova said as the couple walked out of the restaurant.

"I'm still hungry," Nova said.

"Yeah, me too. We can go somewhere else. It just won't be as fancy," Adrian said.

"I'm fine with that," Nova said.

"What sounds good?" He asked.

"A burger. And tator tots. And ice cream." Nova replied.

"Ok. We can go to a burger place and then afterwards, we can go to Sweet Treats," Adrian said.

"Sounds good," Nova said as Adrian started to drive to one of Gatlon's best burger places.

Nova was shaking. Her insides were squirming, and something told her it wasn't the baby. Can babies even start moving this early?

Hmm. Nova needs a book about pregnancy.

As they got nearer, her insides start to squirm more.

"Are you ok, Nova? You look pale."

"I'm fine," Nova replied, her hands tightened around the wrapped pregnancy test box.

"Well, we're here," Adrian said, parking the car.

"Nova, dear, I don't want you to ruin your desert, so do you think you can refrain from putting ice cream on your burger?" Adrian asked as they walked to the restaurant's entrance.

"Why would I put ice cream on my burger?" Nova asked.

"Well, you did for steak." Adrian pointed out.

"Steak is different." Nova stated, as if it was obvious.

"How?" Adrian asked.

"It just is." Nova replied.

Adrian just shrugged and held the door open for his wife.

This place wasn't as fancy as the other place, but it was a sit-down restaurant and it was nice.

They were seated and the waitress came to get their drinks orders.

"Hi! My name is Teresa and I'll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with drinks?" The young girl asked.

"A bottle of your nicest merlot, please." Adrian requested. (Despite being 21, I'm not a big drinker, so I don't know a whole bunch of wines, this is the first one I thought of).

"Um, actually, Adrian, let's not do wine," Nova said.

"Why? Do you want cocktails instead?" Adrian asked. "Because we can get cocktails. I just know how much..."

"Sweet tea, please," Nova interrupted her husband.

"Sweet tea?" He asked.

"And you?" Teresa asked, turning to him.

"Oh, um, water is fine," Adrian said, a bit confused.

The waitress left and Adrian stared at Nova.

"You always get pop or wine or something. You love wine," Adrian said.

"I'm just in the mood for some nice tea," Nova said, looking at the menu. She mentally crossed out all of the items with beer cheese or foods that are harmful to fetuses. Luckily she was able to scribble out a quick list before Adrian picked her up, and she was discreetly checking it, hoping that Adrian wouldn't notice and ask why she had random food items written on paper.

No seafood, no soft cheeses, no foods containing alcohol (like beer cheese or pastas with an alcoholic sauce), no deli meat sandwiches. Avoiding these foods wasn't hard, considering the place specialized in burgers. Nova just couldn't order the fish sandwich or the steakhouse burger, because it contained beer cheese.

Nova knew that alcohol usually is cooked out on dishes where it's used, but she wanted to be safe, so she didn't take the risk. She was caught by surprise earlier, but as she thought about it, she imagined a life with Adrian and their baby and she was determined to do what she could to avoid anything that could harm the fetus, even if the risk was low.

That reminded Nova to ask the waitress for her burger to be well done.

Theresa came back holding the beverages and set them down in front of Nova and Adrian.

"Are you ready to order?" Teresa asked.

"I am. Adrian?" Nova said.

"Me, too." He said.

"Great! Ladies first," Teresa said.

"I'll have the Gatlon classic," Nova said. "And I want it well done. No pink."

"Ok. Fries ok for the side?"

"Actually, can I have the steamed broccoli?"

"Of course."

"The vegetables are washed before cooking, right?"

"Yep. They're soaked in vegetable wash for ten minutes." Teresa replied.

"Ok. Thank you," Nova said.

Adrian was kind of confused. Nova usually never asked so many strange questions, and she loved fries. Heck, she just said she was craving tator tots!

"And you?" Teresa said, turning to Adrian.

"I'll have the Steakhouse burger. Can I have the cheese on the side? With tator tots. I like to dip the tator tots in the cheese."

"Sure can. It will be out shortly, Just flag me down if you need anything else," Teresa said.

Adrian turned to Nova again.

"Nova? What's going on? You usually never ask so many questions," Adrian said. "And you said you were craving tator tots."

Nova was craving tator tots, but greasy foods weren't healthy for the life inside of her.

"Broccoli sounded really good," Nova replied.

"You like your burger to have a little pink," Adrian stated.

"I was in the mood for a well-done burger. Stop arguing, Adrian," Nova said, taking a sip of her tea.

She knew that she would run out of excuses if he kept asking and she wanted to save the announcement until they opened their gifts at Sweet Treats. Over the years, all their important dates happened at that ice cream shop. Nova and Adrian were planning to go there after the fancy restaurant to open gifts, and that part of the plan still hadn't changed, even though the first restaurant changed.

Adrian dropped the subject.

"So, how was your day after I left?" Nova questioned.

"It was good. I'm just glad Ruby and Oscar are back from their honeymoon. We needed them." Adrian said.

Ruby and Oscar got married a month prior and just got back a week ago, after two weeks in Rome.

"I remember our honeymoon," Nova said dreamily.

"Those beaches were so nice. I wish we could go back. Maybe this summer."Adrien suggested.

"Yeah..." Nova said.

But she was only saying that. Going to the beach with a newborn was a disaster just waiting to happen.

Their food was brought to them and Nova scarfed it down. She was starving.

The broccoli didn't exactly hit the spot, but she stole about half of Adrian's tots.

"In the mood for broccoli, huh?"

"I'm your wife. I'm supposed to steal your food," Nova replied.

They finished their dinner, paid, and headed to the ice cream shop.

When they got into the building, the owner looked up.

"Nodrian!" She exclaimed, using their couple name to address them.

Her daughter, who also worked there, waved to the couple. She knew them well, but not as well as Ambrosia.

"The usual?" Ambrosia asked.

Adrian nodded as Ambrosia started to assemble the sundae.

Adrian paid and took the sundae to their usual table, where Nova was patiently waiting.

Nova ended up eating most of the sundae.

She was pregnant, and soon enough, Adrian would understand.

"Time for gifts?" Adrian asked.

He put his gift on the table, and Nova put her two on the table.

"Nova, two? We agreed..."

"Just wait," Nova said.

As per tradition, Nova opened hers first.

"You got me a portrait of our cat? I love it!" Nova exclaimed.

Adrian had painted a portrait of the cat Nova loved so much.

Nova smiled as Adrian opened the first one. It was an expensive art set that Adrian had his eye on for awhile but couldn't afford. Nova had saved up some of her money to buy it for him.

"Nova! This was expensive!" Adrian said.

"I saved up money," Nova replied.

"You're the best," Adrian said, grabbing her hand.

"Open the other one," Nova said.

He did so.

He saw the box and was confused.

"Nova, I hate to break it to you, but I'm a guy." Adrian said. His face changed to that of shock. "Unless..."

He opened the box, took the test out, and noticed the pink plus sign.

"Nova, you're... pregnant?"

She nodded.

"I've been having symptoms for awhile but just confirmed it today I could no longer chalk it up to PMS or illness." Nova replied.

"Nova, I... I'm so happy. We're going to have a baby!"

He got out of the booth, pulled Nova up, and embraced her. Then, he picked her up, twirled her around, and set her back down.

Ambrosia had heard what Adrian and raced over.

"You're having a baby?" She asked Nova, who nodded.

"Can you take a picture of us?" Adrian asked.

Ambrosia nodded. Nova held the test up to her stomach and Adrian put his arm around her and they smiled. Ambrosia took the perfect shot.

"This is definitely the most interesting thing to happen at this shop. When I was pregnant, I told my husband at home. Actually, the most interesting thing to happen here was when my water broke, but this is a close second," Ambrosia said. She knew Nova and Adrian well enough now to hug them.

"Congratulations! I need to tell Tara and Jesse to get busy. They've been married a week now and still no news on grandchildren!"

The scary part was that Ambrosia was only half-joking.

"Well, it took us a year. Give them time," Adrian said.

"A year is too long," Ambrosia stated.

Adrian and Nova chuckled and left the store, heading back home.

When they got home and into the living room, Adrian kissed Nova passionately.

"I love our baby already," He said.

"I do, too."

The cat stared at them. and sniffed the portrait Nova had set down.

Then, she plopped on the couch and curled up.

"We're going to need parenting books." Nova said.

"I'll order them right away." Adrian said. "But I'm sure we'll be just fine."

"We will. Together."

"Together," Adrian nodded, and hugged his wife.

This was so fun to write, and, it gave me several ideas for future chapters!

Yay!

Anyway, I'm either going to write more or play sims.

Either way, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this.

My laptop thinks I'm regnant because I'm already getting ads for baby stuff. Not very useful to me, but whatever.

Until next update,

Keep reading!


	25. Reunion (Major Supernova Spoilers)

Major Supernova Spoilers

You don't have too but reading one of my earlier one shots,_ Support_, before this might help make this one shot more meaningful.

Adrian sat by Nova in the park.

"Why'd you take me here?" Nova asked.

"I remembered how you said you lost everyone. The thing is, you didn't. I found someone who I think you'll be really happy to see."

As soon as Adrian finished his sentence, a figure appeared from behind a tree, with another figure.

"Leroy?" Nova recognized the man immediately.

"Nova!" He said, hugging the girl, but not too tight, due to the acid.

"This is my sister," He pointed to the woman next to him. "Matilda. We were estranged after I became an anarchist, but I recently got back in touch. She's a single mom with a son and she was still nice enough to let me stay at her house until I got back on my feet."

"It's what sisters do," Matilda said.

Matilda didn't seem like she had any powers, but ever since the night of the battle, everyone does, so Matilda's powers must not be visible. To be fair, most peoples' aren't.

"After the fall of the anarchists, I didn't see an anarchist anymore. I saw my baby brother, who needed my help."

"I'm gonna give you some time," Adrian said, walking away. He found his friend, Oliver, and gave Nova and Leroy time to catch up.

Nova took one look at Leroy and let out a small cry.

"I didn't think I'd see you again," She said, shaking her head.

Leroy sat next to her. Matilda stayed standing, giving the two some space.

"I never left Gatlon. I just laid low. I didn't go out much, and when I did, I wore a trench coat and a hat."

"They're not really worried about anarchists anymore. Or villains, for that matter," Nova said, remembering what Hugh had said.

"Well, good. Maybe I wont have to wear this trench coat in summer anymore."

Nova smiled.

"Sometimes, I feel really bad. I killed Honey. I killed my only mother figure."

"But Honey wasn't really a good mother, was she?" Leroy asked.

"I guess not," Nova replied.

Honey didn't really care about Nova. She just took care of Nova because she had to.

All those years, Nova had lived in hiding. She was never able to be a kid. She was fed anti-renegade propaganda. Ace had killed hundreds of people. And she was blind to it.

"I knew, Nova," Leroy said.

"Knew what?"

"That you had fallen for Golden Boy over there."

Adrian was tossing a ball to Oliver while a small crowd of people watched.

An intense game of catch?

"Honey knew, too," Nova said.

Leroy nodded. "That's why she gave you that little talk before the gala."

"She wanted to kill him. What was I supposed to do, Leroy? Let her?"

"No. Everhart didn't deserve to die. I know why you did what you did. And I don't blame you."

Nova stayed quiet.

"I loved a girl once." Leroy said. "Bad news, considering I've been dealing with a face like this."

His eyes were casted downward.

"She was nice to me, and beautiful. She was always so happy. I know that love is a force so strong that people would kill to protect the ones closest to them. It's just sad that you had to choose which loved one to hurt."

Nova closed her eyes.

"Sometimes I can't believe I did it. It was almost... It was almost easy for me." Nova stated.

Leroy took a breath.

"Did I ever tell you about the time I almost left the anarchists?"

Nova shook her head.

"Do you know Kelly?"

"Oliver's mom? Course I do. She used to be the Phantom. She could make herself invisible."

"She had a twin. An identical twin. I thought Kelly was beautiful, yes, but I loved her sister. Kelly and her sister had very different personalities, and I liked Gina's a little more."

Gina. Nova had heard Oliver talking about an Aunt Gina once. He had said she died before he was born, before the First Battle, when the renegades and anarchists were at their worst.

"I liked Gina. Ace knew it. Honey knew it. And Gina talked to me. My face didn't make her scream and run. She treated me like a human."

"An explosion..." Nova said. "Kelly once said that..."

"Yes. Ace had Ingrid implant a bomb in the hospital where Gina worked as a nurse. Gina was one of the fatalities. Poor Kelly was on her way out after enjoying a lunch with her sister when she saw it happen. That trauma, the trauma of knowing her sister had exploded and seeing all the debris and bodies fall around her, led her to get her powers. She said in a newspaper article that in that very moment, she had wished she could disappear from the scene so she wouldn't have had to see all of that. And I guess her powers matched her wish a little bit."

"So is that why..."

"I confronted Ace about it, and Ace said that the hospital was tending to some renegades that Ace had tried to take out before. It was "necessary". I was so mad that I almost left him and became a renegade."

"And why didn't you?"

"Honey convinced me that in the end, we would win, and if we did, Ace would have me killed. I'm not saying I didn't want to die. After losing Gina, I did. I did want to die. But I was afraid of Ace. He had his own brother and sister-in-law killed. His own baby niece. Well, actually... never mind. He was ruthless. And I was afraid that if he did kill me, he would do it in the worst way possible. Much worse than an explosion. Much worse that a surprise assassin."

Leroy looked at Nova once again.

"but you were always braver than me, weren't you? You killed Honey because you knew that if you didn't, she would kill your Adrian. Your love. And she would kill so many more if you hadn't taken her out then and there. Maybe it hurt you personally, Nova, but you saved lots of people from meeting their end that day, and you managed to save lots of people from intense grief. I miss Honey sometimes, too. But I remember how cruel she was. And I think of Gina. And then I don't miss her or Ace anymore. I only wish I was as brave as you and able to cut ties with your uncle."

"Thanks, Leroy. You're much better than Adrian at this."

"Adrian tries to understand, but he was never an anarchist, so he can't ever talk about this like I can. But he found me. He said that he stayed up all night searching for me on the database. He found Matilda, who shared my last name, who was logged on one of the databases from when Thunderbird saved her and her son, and he noticed the last name, and called Matilda. And Matilda said she knew exactly where I was, thought a little hesitant at first, she told Adrian everything when he mentioned that I wasn't wanted for a crime or anything. He's a good guy, Nova. He really loves you."

Nova nodded. "I know. He is good."

"You know, my nephew, Matilda's son, is adopted." Leroy said. "And Matilda knows the woman who runs the orphanage. Do you know of a certain young renegade known as Magpie?"

"Course I do! The little brat tried to steal my bracelet!" Nova exclaimed.

"Ah, but that little brat happens to be Evie."

Nova looked up, eyes wide.

"What? That's impossible! Evie died."

"When they went through the house, they found me, crying and clutching this," Magpie said, holding out a silver bullet.

"It's how I got my powers."

Nova stood up, looking at the young girl.

She saw it now. Magpie looked exactly like Nova. How did nobody notice before?

A black feathered bird, a magpie, flew down beside Magpie.

"Your friends with crows now?" Nova asked.

"No. This is my friend,, but she's a shape-shifter." Magpie replied.

The person got taller, the feathers turning to skin and brown hair.

"After Max gave everyone powers, I turned into a shape-shifter. I always wanted to fly, though, so I often take the form of birds."

"Kennedy? President of the Renegades Fan Club?"

"Former president. We all got powers and most of us are renegades now. Except Stacy, who's still too young to try out."

"Right, you're on Luna's team, aren't you?"

She nodded.

"The day after I became a renegade, I was planted in the crowd, so I could turn into a bird and dramatically fly on my team's float, with a resounding "Caw!" and I saw Magpie steal some lady's broach, so I made her give it back. That's when I noticed how much she looked like you. Obviously, I knew every detail of your face because you're my second favorite Renegade, aside from Maple, and so I questioned Magpie, and it all became so obvious after that."

Ova stared at Magpie. The one person she hated from the start, was her sweet, precious sister.

Kennedy pushed Magpie towards Nova.

Magpie held out her arms.

Nova stifled a sob and hugged her little sister.

"Evie," She cried. "I missed you so much."

I like this one.

I decided to include myself because I wanted you guys to know what power I would have once Max's power distributed powers to everyone. I chose a shape-shifter because I love animals and I am good with them, and I've always wanted to be able to fly and I freaking love birds, so that's what I did. What do you think your powers would be? And if you want, I could include you as a new character, just let me know.

I didn't mention Matilda's power, because I don't know. She's a character you'll probably see more of as I continue to intermingle my new character's with Marissa Meyer's original characters.

Anyway, I thought this would be kind of sweet, Nova reuniting with not only Leroy but the sister she once thought was dead.

I am proud of this one-shot. It really tugs at the heartstrings.

Nothing I said about Leroy is canonical, but not much is known about him, so I kind of used some creativity with that. Unfortunately, since Gina is dead, we probably won't hear about her much more, but who knows, maybe I'll find a way to talk about her again. Perhaps a Leroy-centered chapter.

Anyway, that's all for now. I hope you enjoy this.

Until next time,

Keep reading!


	26. Tragedy

This only contains spoilers if you haven't read the first book. And if you haven't, what are you doing here?

*Trigger warning: Mentions of explosions, dead bodies, body limbs, etc. May not be suitable for all. Please take caution when reading this*

*This takes place before the First Battle of Gatlon, when there was still no clear leader and the anarchists and renegades were still new and still fighting with each other, years before Nova and Adrian were even born. I imagine, from the information the book gave, that the two teams fighting started long before Nova was born, when David Artino and Alec Artino were young adults*

Gina smiled at Leroy as he delivered the medicine he made.

"Hi, Leroy," She said, putting a clipboard down.

"Oh, hi, Gina," He said.

He knew Gina from high school. She was one of the first people to run to his side when the jocks covered him in chemicals.

"I see you got that job you wanted," He said.

"Yep! First week!" Gina exclaimed.

"Are you still..." She looked to both sides. "With the anarchists?"

He nodded.

"You better watch out. Kelly wil kick your butt if she found out. She's a hardcore renegade supporter and spends every minute trying to become one. She's willingly tried to get herself traumatized before. She's ridiculous," Gina said, shaking her head.

"I know, and I know what Kelly is capable of. I'm keeping my distance. I don't want my butt kicked by someone like her."

"So, I see business is booming," She said, nodding at the box in Leroy's arms.

"Actually, I'm looking for the Chief of Staff. She needs to sign off on this stuff."

"She's in her office. I have vitals to take." Gina said, walking off.

Leroy delivered the boxes.

He still remembered the first time he saw her.

Gina did not have powers, not even healing powers, but she loved helping people and it was her dream to become a nurse.

The bullies were laughing, throwing punches and kicking him as he curled up in a ball, trying to protect his most vulnerable body parts, such as his face and stomach.

Then, the leader grabbed some chemicals from a nearby table and thought it would be funny to pour them on Leroy. His friends stood beside him as he poured the chemicals. Leroy screamed as it contacted his skin and burned him.

Leroy's eyes were closed, but he heard a loud scream and opened his eyes just enough to see a blur of brown hair run at the bullies and tackle two of them at once. The other two fled.

"YEAH! RUN YOU COWARDS!" his defender screamed. He knew that voice from his history class. "BUT I'LL FIND YOU!"

He felt another person take a rag and start dabbing at the chemicals covering him.

"YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?! YOUR FACE IS GONNA LOOK FUNNY AFTER THIS YOU DOUCHEBAG!"

Leroy opened his eyes completely to see Kelly Avery, straddling both bullies and taking turns punching each of them. The girl had skill.

He saw Kelly's twin sister, Gina Avery, caring for him.

There was a third person, one Leroy recognized as a friend of the twins, Anne-Maria, frantically dialing the emergency number on her cell phone (911 for the Americans today, but idk what it is for Gatlon).

"You'll be alright," Gina soothed as Anne-Maria explained what she saw to the operator.

Leroy knew the difference between the twins because Kelly had a scar on her face from getting in a fight with a Canadian exchange student her freshman year (A/N: the exchange student happens to become her husband later on).

"Kelly's always been a tough fighter. I've always been the healing type. It's strange, isn't it?" She asked.

Despite their differences, Gina and Kelly were really close.

"What happened?" The chemistry teacher asked, staring at her room is dismay. "I was only gone for ten minutes!"

"Kelly! Stop it!"

"NOT UNTIL THIS ASSHOLE BLEEDS!" Kelly screamed.

"Language, Miss Avery," The teacher scolded, grabbing Kelly's collar and pulling her up.

Gina helped Leroy up at the same time, but he noticed how she winced when his acid-covered hand gripped hers.

'I'm sorry," He said.

She just waved it away and wiped her hand on her jeans (don't do what she did, always always wash your hands when dealing with chemicals).

"What happened, Mr. Flynn?" She asked, examining his body and pushing him to the emergency shower.

"You look like you've been covered with fire," She added.

"Close. Lots of acid," Leroy replied.

She looked at the empty vials and her mouth opened in shock.

"These are dangerous and should be used wearing only the strongest protection! Oh, you boys are in trouble," The teacher said. "And you hurt Leroy much more than how much Kelly hurt you."

"Yeah!" Kelly exclaimed, punching him again.

"That was not an invitation to throw another punch, Kelly,"

The teacher turned on the emergency shower and asked Anne-Maria when the police would arrive.

"Are you ok, now, Leroy?" Gina asked, ignoring everyone else.

'I'm sorry, I did what I could, but I wasn't sure what to do when someone douses another person in chemicals," Gina said.

"Thanks, Gina. It certainly helped," Leroy said.

"If those jerk bags ever hurt you again, you know who to call," Kelly said, punching the air.

"Thanks, Kelly," Leroy said. His body still hurt, but he also felt powerful, and was able to ignore the pain.

He watched as the two girls left the room, shortly after the teacher dragged the two bullies tackled by Kelly to the principal's office by their ears.

Anne-Maria escorted him to the school entrance, where the ambulance showed up minutes later. Leroy was taken the hospital.

Ever since then, Gina made a point to smile and wave at Leroy every time she saw him.

Leroy knew how he looked. The chemicals messed with his face pretty bad. He was a monster.

But Gina never made him feel like he was ugly or less of a human being because of the accident.

Kelly was impulsive and had a strong instinct to protect. Gina was more nurturing and caring. Though he liked Kelly and appreciated her for stepping in before the bullies could do more damage, he had a crush on Gina. Kelly was pretty, as was Gina, because they looked almost the same, but Gina's personality seemed to draw Leroy in.

One day, after the accident, Leroy and Gina were getting coffee.

"So, what's up with Kelly and that guy? I thought they hated each other? Didn't they get into that fistfight, where Kelly was scratched by his watch and got that scar?"

"Yeah. Well, turns out they met again when she and I came back for spring break," She said, "he apologized and now they can't be separated."

Kelly and Gina were both nearing their college graduation date. Gina would have a degree in nursing, and Kelly got her bachelor's degree in general education, since she was unsure what she wanted to do and general education provided her with a broad educational background so she could choose what she wanted (a degree in general ed is a thing. I don't think my college does it but some do).

"Part of me wonders if she's just trying to lure him into a false sense of security and then attack him again when he least expects it."

"You, Kelly always liked you." Gina said, staring at her sister, who was waiting in line with Mr. Exchange Student, who was now part of the renegades, which at this moment in time, was just a small group.

"What? Me?"

"Yep. But then you started to hang around Ace and she kind of lost a lot of respect for you." Gina replied, taking a sip of her mocha.

"I know the anarchist is a new movement and Ace seems cool and all, but what if he's not? Something about that guy just gives me the creeps, Plus he seems, I don't know... mean?"

"Ace is cool. I promise. Plus, I believe in his cause."

"I don't know, Leroy, I'd rather put my trust in the renegades. They seem more like heroes than villains."

"Are you saying the anarchists are villains?"

"I mean, yeah, I guess I am. Ace only just started out and he's already hurt a lot of people."

"We just believe that people need to be independent and stand up for themselves."

"Leroy, not everyone you meet is gonna be like my dear sister, Kelly Avery. Some people are more like me, and don't really know how to defend themselves or throw punches or cause other people bodily harm."

'When the time comes, Gina, I'll protect you. But I don't want you relying on the renegades and letting your guard down. The roaches are still out there, so are the Panthers, and though not as big as the Renegades and anarchists, are still very dangerous."

"Leroy, are you promising to look out for me?" Gina asked. "because I have Kelly, and I have my dad and..."

"Your mom was killed by the roaches! How are you still not scared?"

"I miss my mother every day! But at the end of the day, I see her as a hero, because before she died, she put three roaches in jail. And I know that my dad wasn't able to protect her because she was on duty and not home when she died but I know he will always be watching me and ready to protect one of the two reminders of my mother that he has left. So leave my mom out of this. She would never ever support the anarchists."

Gina stood up, ready to join Kelly and leave.

"Gina, I'm sorry," Leroy said, pulling at her sleeve.

She wiped tears from her eyes.

"Don't talk about my mother again. You didn't even know her." Gina growled, and joined Kelly.

Leroy was still trying to make amends with Gina. She had gone back to college and he knew she was busy, but she blocked his calls and left him on read constantly. Leroy knew he shouldn't have mentioned her mother. Gina only lost her earlier this year and the wounds it left were still fresh.

Mrs. Avery was one of the few cops who wasn't corrupted these days. Leroy knew Gina was right. He didn't know her well, but he knew that she would never support the anarchists.

They just didn't understand what Ace Anarchy was about. But Leroy did, and he agreed one hundred percent with everything Ace stood for. Screw the renegades! They're just trying to take over Gatlon and run it into the ground just like what happened with America. Gatlon used to be a city called Chicago, which was in Illinois, in a place called America. But that all changed because the country became corrupt and the middle and lower classes rebelled and made sure there was no longer a country, but cities, who were in charge of themselves.

But recently, Gatlon has had trouble governing itself, which is how the Renegades and Anarchists came to be.

"Kelly," Leroy said, approaching the woman, who was getting ice cream with another friend of hers. Kelly chose to take her classes online this semester to help her dad, who was lost without his wife.

"Oh, hey. Leroy. How goes it?"

"I heard you're with that one guy you fought in freshman year." Leroy said.

"Oh, yeah. At first, I was only dating him to get revenge and was gonna punch him in his sleep when he least expected it but turns out he's actually a pretty cool guy. I'm probably still gonna punch him, though." Kelly replied.

Leroy smiled.

"So, Gina's not talking to me."

"Yeah. She's been muttering angry words about you under her breath. When she came home that day, she kept saying something about what you said about our mom. But I don't know the whole story," Kelly replied.

"Yeah. Listen, I feel really bad about it, and I've been trying to talk to her, but she won't talk to me. Do you think you could tell her that I'm sorry?" Leroy asked.

'Yeah. I'll tell her to talk to you. She'll listen to me," Kelly said.

"Thanks, Kel. I appreciate it," Leroy said.

Kelly must have talked to Gina, because Gina invited him to her favorite restaurant the week after she finished school.

He met her there.

"Hey, Gina," He said.

"Hi, Leroy," She said.

"So, what's it like being a college graduate?" He asked.

"I don't feel that much different. But I am getting more sleep."

"Isn't Kelly supposed to graduate, too?"

"She took a semester off when Mom died so she has one more to go. I thought about doing that but thought Mom would want me to continue." Gina replied.

"I'm sorry about what I said, Gina. I knew I had no right to scare you like that and remind you of your mom when it was clear you were still grieving. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say those things."

"I can never be mad at you, Leroy. You're one of my closest friends."

Another warm smile.

Leroy smiled too. Her smile was always so infectious.

They ate and talked, and it was like they never had that fight.

Weeks went by, and Gina was looking for jobs. She was busy, and as a result, wasn't talking to Leroy much. Leroy knew this, and he knew she wasn't mad, so he didn't bother her.

One day, the hospital ordered medicine from him, as they were in short supply and their usual supplier was temporarily shut down.

And that brings us back to the beginning, to that fateful day.

He was happy to see Gina and to know that she had got a job at the hospital she wanted to work at. He and Gina exchanged pleasantries and gave each other a brief summary of what they were up to, an then parted.

He went back to the anarchist headquarters. Ingrid looked smug, and Ace looked like he won another battle.

"What's going on?" Leroy asked.

"You'll see soon enough," Ingrid said.

Kelly hugged her sister and bid her good-bye, walking back to her car. They had just enjoyed lunch together, since it was Gina's lunch break and while Kelly worked part-time to get through college, she only worked at night.

Kelly was so proud of her sister. She was finally doing the very thing she dreamed of.

Kelly was only a few steps away when her childhood pediatrician stopped her.

They talked for a few minutes, and then Kelly heard a strange sound.

"Do you hear that?" She asked, just as the hospital exploded, a huge "boom" echoing through the area.

Kelly and the doctor were thrown backwards.

The doctor helped her up and they stared at the hospital.

"Gina..." Kelly's heart started to beat rapidly. "Gina was in there. I have to go. I need to save Gina..." Kelly bolted forward. The doctor grabbed her hand.

"Kelly, stay here," She commanded.

"No. no. I can't lose Gina. I can't... I can't lose her! No!" Kelly screamed.

She looked around. Bodies and body parts fell around her.

Kelly wished she could teleport. Anywhere but here. Just simply disappear.

She heard thuds as debris and bodies fell. The hospital was now on fire.

Were there any survivors?

She saw the doctor run closer and saw her helping survivors.

Kelly hoped she would see Gina.

Gina. Lovely Gina. Always smiling. Always friendly. Her built-in best friend.

Survivors passed Kelly, and Kelly still didn't see Gina. She walked around, looking for Gina or listening for voices of survivors.

She stepped on something.

Kelly looked down and screamed.

She was absolutely devastated.

First her mom, now, Gina.

Kelly had stepped on her sister's hand. The rest of her body was nowhere to be seen, but Kelly knew that hand, because the hand adorned a bracelet similar to the one on Kelly's wrist. It was a silver charm bracelet with a golden "G" as the middle charm. Kelly's was the same but had a golden "K". Their mother had gotten matching bracelets for them one Christmas, and the twins declared them to be friendship bracelets.

Kelly's mouth hung open and she sunk to the ground, staring at the hand.

"Gina, where are you?" Kelly moaned. "Don't leave me," She sobbed. She looked around. Maybe the rest of Gina was around here, perhaps still alive, just missing a hand.

"Gina!" Kelly screamed. "Gina, answer me!"

Kelly sobbed as she realized that Gina was never going to answer her.

Kelly sat on her knees, next to the hand. Shell-shocked.

And the ringing in her ear wouldn't go away as panic and despair ate away a hole in her heart. A hole she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to fill.

Hours later, Ingrid laughed hysterically as Ace and the other anarchists huddled around a TV.

Leroy recognized that building.

It was the hospital where Gina worked.

"Ace..." Leroy started. He was shushed.

"Gatlon mourns a tragedy today. Earlier today, at approximately 1:30 pm, there was an explosion at Gatlon Memorial Hospital. Hundreds are dead, and there are only a handful of survivors," The news lady said.

They showed footage taken earlier that day.

Leroy saw Kelly Avery sobbing on the ground, next to a hand detached from it's body.

Leroy's heart sank as he realized it was probably Gina's hand, which would explain why Kelly was crying so hard.

The TV cut to footage of a survivor, a young nurse, explaining her experience. She had burns all over her right side, and scratches and cuts, but she had all her limbs.

The footage cut to another shot of an older man, who was missing a foot.

"Well, besides a missing foot, I'm ok, and I'm grateful for that."

The footage cut to Kelly.

"I had lunch with my sister, who was a nurse and as I left, I... I heard... I saw... I'm sorry," Kelly said, turning away and crying into a female doctor's shoulder. Leroy knew that doctor, she was a pediatrician and was the twin's doctor when they were kids. The doctor patted her back.

"Give her space," She snapped to the interviewer.

Ingrid continued to laugh as Ace smiled.

"We eliminated the renegades that were only injured in the last attack." Ace said. "Victory is close. I know it."

Leroy felt like his whole body went numb.

He was shaking.

He confronted Ace that night.

"What was that?!" He asked, fists clenched tightly.

"What? We killed some renegades. There were a few casualties, but it's a small price to pay..."

"Gina worked there!"

"Oh, that silly girl you like? Well, I'm sorry for that, Leroy, but she was a necessary casualty."

"Casualty? Gina is not just a casualty. She was a person. A person I was friends with. A person I loved!"

Ace gave him a look that said "It can't be helped."

Honey heard a rustling in Leroy's room and decided to check on him. She knew he liked that Avery girl. Not the one on the news, but the one that had died.

She opened the door, and saw Leroy packing up his things in a worn-out suitcase.

"Leroy, what are you doing?"

"Leaving this group," He replied, barely holding in tears.

"Why?" Honey asked.

"I know you're ok with the killing and the casualties, too, and usually, I'd call it necessary, but I knew one of the casualties. I loved Gina. I was going to ask her on a date the next time I saw her. I was going somewhere with her. I loved her, and Ace took that away from me." Leroy replied.

"Leroy, I know the grief is strong, but if you leave the anarchists, you'll regret it." Honey said, running a hand through her perfectly curled 1950's-housewife-style hair. "We're going to win, Leroy. And if you leave, you'll make Acey angry. And he'll find you and make you wish you never left. And Gina wouldn't want you to be hurt, would she?"

"I guess not. But Ace did something..."

"It was all for us. For the cause. You believe in the cause, don't you?"

"I do..."

"Then stay."

And so Leroy stayed. But he was always ashamed for not being brave enough to leave Ace and the anarchists. And for letting him get away with what he did to Gina.

And, oh, how much he missed his Gina.

This is really sad. I know I said we wouldn't be hearing much about Gina, but I felt like she deserved a backstory, so I gave her one. I also felt like Leroy deserved a chapter about him.

And it also gives you readers a better understanding of how I interpreted the books. For instance, I think that the renegades and anarchists were a thing long before our main characters were born, and it makes sense, since Georgia was a renegade before she had Adrian. I also agree, like many, if not all of you, that Leroy was good. I don't think he belonged with the anarchists.

Anyway, yes, this is sad, and yes, it was a little graphic, but war and explosions always are. War means great loss. And that is what happened.

The next one-shots will be happy, I promise. I have lots of ideas and the ideas are all cute and fluffy.

I hope you're enjoying this story so far.

Until next time,

Keep Reading!


	27. Nodrian's Quarantine (Implied Spoilers)

*This takes Place before What To Expect When You're Expecting, but after their marriage. Nova and Adrian are living in a house by themselves. They had just gotten back from their honeymoon a week prior and are being self-quarantined, along with the rest of Gatlon.*

"I'm so bored!" Adrian groaned.

Nova rolled her eyes as she made little tweaks to her latest invention.

"Read a book,' Nova suggested.

"I read all of them!"

"No, you haven't."

"The only books I haven't read are the ones that belong to you and are about war and weaponry." Adrian replied.

The cat Adrian got for Nova was looking out the window, seated on her cat jungle.

"Even the cat is having fun," Adrian groaned.

Nova kind of liked quarantine. She was an introvert, and recharged by being alone, and she was full of energy because she was never around people anymore.

Adrian, however, was a complete extrovert. He lived for other people. He was not doing well.

Nova knew of this thing called the Coronavirus that her ancestors had to go through. It was very contagious and it killed a lot of people. They had developed a vaccine at some point, and the illness was eradicated.

The illness taking over the world now was similar to the coronavirus.

This sickness also had flu-like symptoms, but the only way to differentiate the two was a rash that came with it.

It killed many, mostly the elderly and immunocompromised, just like COVID-19.

Because of this, the government officials made a non-essential travel ban and only people whose jobs were essential were working.

Nova and Adrian, being renegades, were essential workers, but due to the danger this illness posed, the renegade council were only having a certain number of teams working, usually two at a time, since crime was also not very common right now due to Quarantine, and Adrian and his team had the week off.

"Browse the internet," Nova offered.

"I've done that a million times. Ruby and Oscar stocked up on food, Danna is panicking because she ran out of toilet paper and the stores are all out, Tara and Jesse had to postpone their wedding, and Oliver is hanging out with a dog version of Kennedy because she heard that the illness can't affect animals, thus using her shapeshifting power to be a dog 95% of the time. Their yellow lab seems to be enjoying the company, though."

"I bet she's a cute dog."

"An adorable greyhound. But still. I know what everyone is up to."

"Well it's good we had our wedding before all this started," Nova said.

Nova and Adrian had gotten married a mere month before this illness broke out and put the world into a panicked frenzy.

"That's true," Adrian agreed.

The cat meowed and plopped off her cat jungle and walked into Nova and Adrian's bedroom.

"She's probably taking a cat nap," Adrian observed.

"You should quit bothering me and do the same," Nova said.

Adrian sighed.

"We need sardines. I'm going to the store to get sardines," Adrian said, sitting up from his lying position.

"We don't eat sardines, Adrian." Nova said. "Up until last month, you thought a sardine was how someone with a speech impediment called saltines."

"We should try sardines. I'm going to get something."

"Adrian Everhart, if you leave this house, you are sleeping on the porch for two weeks," Nova threatened.

"You sound just like Ruby," Adrian said. "Oscar says that she heard that the illness gets into the bloodstream and that's how people get infected. Since Ruby's blood is abnormal, she doesn't think she can get infected, so she's making Oscar stay home and she's the only one allowed to go grocery shopping and if Oscar takes one step out of the house, their chihuahua starts barking and alerts Ruby."

"Really?"

"Yep. Danna puts on a hazmat suit. Kennedy goes shopping in her greyhound form, and Luna uses her power to make herself super bright to keep people at least six feet away from her. I told you, Nova, I know what everyone is doing because all I ever do is browse social media."

Nova stopped tweaking her invention.

"You wanna watch a movie?" Nova asked.

"Like what? I've seen everything a million times." Adrian complained.

"That's why rewatching is a thing." Nova replied, turning the TV on.

She got onto one of the most popular streaming services and browsed through movies.

"We can watch the Harry Potter series," Nova suggested.

"I'm not in the mood for a movie," Adrian moaned.

Being in quarantine has made Adrian such a baby.

"Adrian, I don't know what to tell you. We have to stay inside. I'm surprised. You're usually the responsible one in our relationship."

"I want to see people! I'm going crazy, Nova!"

"I know, Adrian. I know it's tough. But the more we stay inside, the sooner this pandemic will be over." Nova stated.

"If I hit myself hard enough, can you take me to the hospital?"

"No. I'll order a straitjacket," Nova replied.

"I just want to go somewhere. Anywhere! Even if it's a landfill!" Adrian groaned, lying on the couch again. His head was on Nova's lap.

She sighed and opened her laptop.

"What are you doing?" Adrian asked.

"We're going to facetime Ruby, Oscar, Danna, and Olivia."

Olivia was Danna's new girlfriend. They met because Olivia was the wedding planner Adrian and Nova hired.

Nova facetimed them altogether.

She saw Ruby's exasperated face appear on the screen, along with Oscar.

"Oscar won't stop asking me if I can go to the store and get candy," She complained.

"She only lets me eat healthy anymore! I need my jellybeans!"

"This virus should be a wake-up call that we need to keep our bodies healthy by eating right so our immune system will be strong enough to fend it off."

"I am a renegade! What is healthier than that?! I exercise every day!"

"Hey, guys," Danna said, relaxing on her bed and holding her phone above her.

Olivia and Danna didn't live together yet, because they've only been dating for a month, so Olivia was not with her.

Olivia must have been busy, because she declined the facetime call.

"Danna! Do you have candy?"

"I have some hard candy in my pantry, but that's all..." She sighed. "And I've been using tissues as toilet paper because I'm still out and three stores were all out. Damn hoarders."

"See! Danna has candy, Ruby!"

"Oscar, no! We will eat veggies and organic protein from now on." Ruby snapped. "And we will eat some healthy carrot cake or kettle cooked chips, but only if you've been good."

"But I miss McDonald's!" Oscar cried.

"Nova, please don't make me eat healthy," Adrian said.

"Not a chance," Nova replied. She herself was a chocolate addict. "Besides, we eat salad sometimes. We eat enough veggies,"

"The last time I ate salad was a month ago," Adrian said.

"Shhh," Nova said.

"The last time I ate salad was yesterday," Oscar stated. "I didn't enjoy a minute of it."

"I worked hard on that salad, Oscar!"

"You put lettuce, hardboiled egg pieces, and onions in a bowl. It's not an exact science! You didn't even let me put dressing on it."

"Dressing defeats the purpose of being healthy," Ruby argued.

Adrian was starting to feel amused. The argument was hilarious.

"Will you be postponing your wedding?" Adrian asked.

"We're not sure. We're gonna see how long this quarantine lasts," Ruby replied. "But it's looking that way."

They planned to have their wedding a month from now, but that probably won't happen.

"We're pretty much married already. We're already fighting like a couple," Oscar said. "And she's already controlling my diet."

"Only because I care," Ruby replied.

"But I like candy!" Oscar whined. "Don't you care about my happiness?"

"I want you to live a long life, Oscar, not be taken down by some stupid germ." Ruby replied.

"Says the person who never gets a flu vaccine," Oscar said.

"I have a good reason," Ruby said. "I'm not some anti-vaxxer or anything."

"Have you guys been fighting a lot?" Danna asked.

"Only over stupid stuff," Ruby replied. "Most of them happen to be about what's for dinner."

"Just one night where I can have pizza! One night!" Oscar exclaimed.

"I told you I'd think about it!"

"This is why I want to grocery shopping! I don't like the stuff you get." Oscar complained.

"I told you! The virus probably can't affect me, so I'm going! You stay here where I know you're safe!"

"What are you making for dinner tonight?" Adrian asked.

"Baked chicken breasts with mashed cauliflower. The chicken is thawing as we speak."

"I hate my life," Oscar groaned.

"Yeesh," Adrian said as Nova handed him an ice cream sandwich.

"Why do you mock me?" Oscar cried.

Nova muttered "Oops,", just now realizing what she had done.

"I'm not a health nut, but I don't really eat junk food either, but you gotta give Oscar some say," Danna said.

"He's my responsibility now that we live together, and I want him to be healthy." Ruby said.

"So, what was the reason for the call?" Danna asked.

"Adrian keeps complaining that he's bored," Nova said.

"And he's describing the lives of the people we know right now. Apparently, Tara and Jesse had to postpone their wedding, and Luna is taking social distancing to the extreme."

"I spend a lot of time on social media because I'm so bored."

"Yeah, and he wouldn't stop complaining, so I'd thought we'd all talk." Nova said.

"Well, other than just happening to be out of toilet paper at the worst possible time, I'm doing just dandy," Danna said, still lying on her bed. "I've been so lazy lately. The last time I left my bed was when I talked to my dad over the phone, and that was this morning."

"How do you eat?" Ruby asked.

"I turn into a swarm and get a couple of the butterflies fly it to my room," Danna replied. "Technically, I didn't leave the bed. Just some of me did."

"Wow," Nova said. "I can barely get Adrian to sit still. He always wants to go outside or see his dads and Max."

"You're an introvert. You can handle this. But I live for talking to other people!"

"You don't think I want to see Leroy or Evie? 'Course I do! But Leroy is quarantining with his sister, who has increased risk due to a lung condition she was born with, and her son has asthma. Evie has to stay put because several of the other kids at the orphanage have lung problems. Which is why I told you we should take her in."

"We asked her. She said she wanted to stay with her friends."

"We shouldn't have given her a choice!"

"Anyway, besides the dieting, how are you guys?" Nova asked Ruby and Oscar.

"Good. A lot of people say that once you live with a person, they'll start to annoy you, but Oscar is always annoying, so it hasn't changed much." Ruby joked.

"Hey, I complain about wanting candy sometimes. Am I really annoying?"

"No, I was just joking," Ruby said, pecking his cheek. "In fact, you and Mr. Barks-a-lot are the only things keeping me sane."

"Did you really name your chihuahua Mr. Barks-a-lot?" Danna asked.

"No. We're still thinking of a name, so we're using that right now as a nickname, but we try not to call him by that name often because we don't want him thinking it's his real name."

Ruby looked down at her phone. They were using Oscar's laptop to facetime.

"My mom is calling. My brother is infected so she's been updating me. I need to get this," Ruby said.

Adrian knew, of course, and Nova was told by Adrian, so their hearts went out to Ruby and her family. But Sterling was strong, and they knew he would survive. Besides, he wasn't old or immunocompromised.

Oscar ended the call as Ruby said "Hello, mom?"

"Shoot, I'm getting another call." Danna said. "It's from my dad, I should take this."

"Go ahead. Adrian and I can entertain our selves," Nova said.

Danna ended the call.

"What now?" Adrian asked.

"We could build a pillow fort," Nova said.

"Oh! Good idea! We should bake cookies, too!"

Adrian got the cookies out while Nova went throughout the house, grabbing pillows and blankets from every possible place.

First, they would make the cookie batter and then bake it. While it was baking, they'd start on the pillow fort.

Adrian was a decent cook.

Nova was not.

She never had her parents with her as she grew up. She didn't watch anybody do domestic things. It wasn't her fault.

But Adrian used to watch his mom cook, and after she died, he watched his dads make food. They also enjoyed dessert every now and then.

He measured the ingredients out as Nova read them out loud.

They combined them in a cup.

The batter formed, and they used cooking spray and flour to line the pan.

Until Nova realized how messy the flour was.

With a smirk, she threw some at Adrian's face as he turned around to face her.

"Nova!" Adrian exclaimed, looking down at his apron.

(Sidenote: Please don't look up aprons for men. BAD IDEA)

It was a black apron that read "Caution: Extremely Hot". Yeah, it was one of those cheesy ones an embarrassing dad would wear.

"Well, your black apron is now white," Nova said.

Adrian looked at her apron. As a birthday present last year, Oscar and Ruby had gotten Nova a cat apron. It's exactly what it sounds like. An apron covered in cartoon cats

(Sidenote: You can look up cat aprons. None of those images will scar you unless you have a fear of cats).

Every renegade or renegade supporter knows full well that Nova has a soft spot for the creatures, and they never let her forget it.

"Adrian, no. Don't cover the kitties in flour," Nova said, backing away.

"An eye for an eye, Nova Everhart," Adrian said.

"It's Nova Artino-Everhart," Nova corrected.

(Yes, Nova hyphenated. You know she would.)

Adrian flicked flour on the apron.

"I shall avenge my cats!" Nova exclaimed, grabbing a fist full of flour. Most of it slipped through her fingers as she moved, but she threw the remainder in Adrian's face.

The house cat went in the kitchen for some water.

But then she saw the scene, and got the hell out. She headed back to the shared bedroom of Adrian and Nova.

Adrian quickly wiped the powder off his glasses and grabbed some chocolate chips.

He threw them at Nova.

"Hey! Don't waste chocolate, you monster!" She exclaimed, coming up behind him and sprinkling sugar on his hair.

"Hey!" Adrian said, turning around and trying to grab her, but Nova, being so short, just ran under his arm, escaping.

She turned on the sink, and splashed water on Adrian as he stalked towards her.

He grabbed some sugar and threw it on Nova, covering her face.

They went at it, throwing baking supplies at each other, until Adrian noticed how messy the kitchen was and called for a truce.

Nova accepted because damn, Adrian was hard to beat.

"You're good competition," She said to him.

He smiled. 'I learned from the best."

"Well, we'll have to put the pillow fort on hold," Adrian said, surveying the damage.

"But first, we need to put these babies in the oven. I still intend on enjoying some chocolate chip cookies tonight."

"Imagine being in Ruby's house. She'd ban the cookies." Nova said, taking a clump of leftover cookie dough and eating it.

"She's being too hard on Oscar. Junk food is ok in moderation. You gotta enjoy life, and that means enjoying food, too." Adrian said, licking the spoon.

"We can get salmonella," Nova said, but still didn't stop.

"Worth it," Adrian replied.

"Salmonella can't be worse than this virus, right?" Nova said.

"You got a point," Adrian replied.

He put the cookies in the oven and Nova headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower while Adrian started to sweep up the flour and sugar all over the floor.

The cat watched from a spot on the couch, wondering what her humans were up to.

After Nova cleaned herself up, She and Adrian switched roles.

She swept and cleaned, knowing that the sooner she cleans everything up, the sooner they could make the pillow fort.

"Watch out," Nova said to the cat. "Because we're going to have a major cuddle session later and you will have a spot in the middle."

The cat just blinked at Nova and then began licking her paws.

Nova finished cleaning just as Adrian finished up his shower.

"The kitchen is clean. Now we make the pillow fort," Nova said.

"Let me check the kitchen," Adrian replied.

"You don't trust that I did a good job cleaning?" Nova asked, slightly offended.

"I know how excited you are for the fort and in your excitement, you might have forgotten..."

"What?" Nova asked.

"You cleaned the floor, but you forgot about the whole counter," Adrian replied.

"Oh, sweet rot, you're right," Nova groaned, annoyed at herself.

She and Adrian quickly cleaned the counter, and then moved to the living room and started to build the fort. They forgot all about the cookies.

Adrian looked up from a blanket he was draping over a pile of pillow and sniffed the air.

His eyes widened.

"Nova, the cookies!"

Nova hopped up from behind a pile of pillows that she was working on fluffing up.

Adrian ran to the kitchen, Nova close behind.

He opened the oven and breathed a sigh of relief. He took the cookies out.

"Only the sides are burnt," Nova pointed out. He broke a cookie in half and ate around the burnt side. He gave the other half to Nova.

"Well, the middle is pretty darn good," Adrian said.

"Well, we can put the finishing touches on the pillow fort and then eat the cookies," Nova said.

They finished up the fort. Nova snuck inside, taking the cat, who was very unwilling, while Adrian put the cookies on a platter.

Nova was holding the cat to her chest while Adrian crawled in.

"Um, Nova, maybe..."

"Princess Sweetie stays," Nova growled.

Yes, Nova Artino-Everhart, former anarchist and one of the Renegades toughest members, named her cat Princess Sweetie. Sweetie for short.

"Okay. What are you going to be like when we have kids?" Adrian wondered.

"I'll dote on them more than the cat. Princess Sweetie might get jealous," Nova said, as she set the grumpy cat between the two.

Adrian grabbed a cookie.

"Maybe quarantine isn't so bad. As long as I have you," Adrian said.

"I have the cat. You're just a bonus," Nova replied, nibbling on a cookie.

Adrian just laughed.

The cat shifted a little, so she could curl up and fall asleep.

Nova and Adrian looked at each other.

"I'm exhausted," Adrian said. Nova smiled and kissed his temple, using her powers to put him to sleep.

Then, she laid down.

She didn't need sleep, but whenever she was around Adrian, she found it easier to sleep, and she realized that it did make her feel a little more refreshed than on nights when she didn't sleep.

So, she, too drifted off to sleep.

I hope you guys enjoyed. I know it's long, but I didn't see the point in making it a two-parter.

And Luna is now one of my favorite OCs. I mean, lighting yourself up to keep others away is pretty extreme, and as an introvert, I respect that.

Anyway, my sister gave me this idea and I thought we could all relate, since nearly every country was on lock down. I'm not sure if any still are.

Even with most places opening up, the virus is still out there, so stay safe. Stay inside when possible. Rapunzel did it for eighteen years. I think we can handle it.

Until next time,

Keep reading!


	28. Jusk Ask Her Already!(Nodrian, Spoilers)

This is a request I got on from AliasUnknown.

_Things are slowly returning to normal, or as normal as it will ever be. But Adrian realizes that with all the commotion he's barely had any time for Nova. Even with everything that's happening he finds time to ask her on a date after being prompted by Max to "Stop stalling and just ask her already!"_

Thanks for the idea!

"I guess it's weird, Max. Like, I've kissed Nova, but we haven't even been on a real date yet."

"Wait… What?!" Max exclaimed. "You haven't been on a real date? Adrian, she lives in our house! How hard is it to ask her on a date?"

"I guess I'm giving her time. The battle has been hard for her."

"Ok, true, but it was nine months ago. I'm sure she's healed a little bit by now. At least enough to be able to handle a date."

"I don't know, Max. What if she says no?"

"Then she says no. It probably doesn't mean she doesn't love you, she's just not ready." Max said.

Adrian closed his sketch book. "I don't want to push her or anything…"

"Adrian, Nova is a strong person. She knows her limits. If she thinks she needs time for a little more healing, she will tell you. At this point, you're making up excuses. It's not that deep." Max said.

Adrian stared at his brother. He was out of his quarantine, ever since the Last Battle. He seemed to enjoy being able to be a kid again. Bur Adrian still knew that the time he spent in Quarantine made him wise beyond his years. If he had to ask anybody for advice, it would be Max.

"Do you…"

"Stop stalling and just ask her already!" Max exclaimed.

Nova has been staying in Adrian's house with his dads and Max, after all the anarchists died and she switched sides to be a true renegade. She still felt bad, that even after all the terrible things she did, everyone forgave her like it was nothing.

She still felt bad, but her and Adrian's budding relationship was making her happy.

Well, if you could call it budding. They had kissed before. And he brought her to the dance. But it wasn't really a date, because she wasn't there for long, and she left to do her part of the plan.

Since then, as the city was healing, Adrian and her hadn't had much time together. They saw each other in passing, and they ate dinner together with Simon, Hugh, and Max. Sometimes, if she felt lonely, she snuck into Adrian's bed and slept beside him, because even though she didn't need sleep, sleeping beside him was so… so easy. Other than those instances, they just didn't interact much. Nova was starting to wonder if he was even still interested.

Nova sat in her room. One of the only rooms in the house where someone wasn't murdered. She was fiddling with on her inventions. It was mostly to keep her mind from wandering.

The house was quiet. It was nighttime. She was fully aware that Simon, Hugh, and Max were asleep in their rooms.

She wondered what Adrian was doing.

And she decided that maybe she should get some sleep. She didn't need it, but she always felt a little more refreshed after she got some shut eye.

So, quietly, she crept down the stairs and was on the first level of the mansion. She walked through the halls and got to the staircase leading to the basement.

Then, she quietly opened the door and crept down.

She was surprised to see a light on. Adrian was sitting on the couch, drawing something.

Nova accidentally stepped on a creaky spot on the floor.

Adrian heard, and turned around.

He saw her, and quickly closed his sketchbook and threw it behind him.

Nova gave him a shocked look.

"I, uh, wasn't expecting you to come down here."

"I was expecting you to be asleep," She said, as Adrian moved over to let her sit on the couch with him.

"Oh, really?" He asked. "then why did you come down?"

"I thought maybe I could fall asleep with you. Like how I sometimes do," She said.

Adrian, of course, knew she did that sometimes. It becomes quite obvious when he wakes up beside her on multiple occasions.

"Oh," Adrian said. He felt like maybe he should apologize for not sleeping.

"I'm sorry," He said.

Nova smiled. "What for?" She questioned.

"Not being asleep," He said.

She laughed.

"That's a weird thing to apologize for," She said. "So, what were you drawing?"

Adrian was drawing something that he was going to present to her when he formally asked her out. But he didn't want to tell her that, so it could remain a surprise. "A portrait of my dads. I'm going to give it to them on their anniversary," Adrian said.

This was true. But what Nova didn't know is that Adrian finished that portrait a few days ago.

"Aww, that's sweet," Nova said.

"Why don't we get some sleep?" Adrian asked, yawning.

"That sounds good," Nova said.

"Stop stalling and just ask her already!" Max's words echoed in his mind.

"Soon," He said.

"Huh?" Nova asked.

"Oh, um, talking to myself," He replied as he and Nova got into bed.

He fell asleep holding on to her, and in his arms, she felt safe, and she soon fell asleep, too.

Nova woke up before Adrian. She looked at his clock and saw that it was nine in the morning. It was Sunday, so she knew that Hugh and Simon were upstairs making breakfast.

She also realized that tomorrow was their anniversary.

She remembered Adrian's sweet gift idea and she slipped out of Adrian's arms and went to look at it. She wasn't sure why she felt like she should do that. She thought that maybe she wanted to see how far into it he was, since he didn't have much time left.

But deep down, Nova knew that Adrian was hiding something, and perhaps his sketchbook had some answers.

She made sure Adrian was sound asleep, and then retrieved his sketchbook from where it landed last night when he threw it.

She flipped through it, seeing pages among pages of sketches.

She stopped on the second to last page. She hadn't seen a portrait of her dads.

But she did see a beautiful necklace.

Nova gasped as she realized it matched her bracelet. Adrian had even colored it on so that when he pulled it out and made it real, it would come out in color.

Nova wasn't sure how long she sat there, staring at it.

But soon she heard Adrian yell "Nova, what are you doing?!"

She jumped.

Whoops.

"Oh, um, I wanted to see the portrait of your dads." Nova said.

Adrian massaged his temples.

"You didn't ask me first?" He asked.

Nova was shocked. She's never seen him this mad.

"Nova, an artist's sketchbook is like a diary. You need to ask permission before you go through it," Adrian exclaimed, still a little angry.

"And now you've ruined the surprise," He said.

"What surprise?" Nova asked, As Adrian moved towards her.

He gently took the sketchbook from her hands and pulled the necklace out.

"Nova Jean Artino," He asked solemnly. "Will you do me the honor of going out on a date with me?"

Adrian was on one knee, and Nova laughed.

"Of course, Adrian," She said. He smiled, stood up, and put the necklace around her neck.

"You know, I was beginning to wonder if you still liked me," Nova said.

Adrian looked shocked. "Nova, there is nothing in this world that would ever make me not like you anymore," He said.

With that, the couple kissed.

"Stop stalling and just ask her already!" He heard Ma say once again.

_Well, I just did. _Adrian thought as he and Nova headed upstairs to eat breakfast.

Oh my gosh.

I love this one.

I know, I say this a lot. I understand that. But I do!

This was so fun to write.

It stumped me a little, as starting out, I wasn't sure how Adrian should ask her out, if he should give her a gift, and if so, what he should give her, but it all came together in the end.

I want to thank AliasUnknown for the request. I also want to give a shoutout to Livvyanne. They left a very simple, yet sweet comment on .

I don't think you guys know the full extent of how much I enjoy and look forward to reading your comments.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I love and appreciate you all!

Until next time,

Keep reading!


	29. Engagements (Nodrian, Osby, Spoilers)

Ruby sat on her couch, watching Jade and Sterling play Mario Kart.

After a while, the doorbell rang.

"Ruby, dear, can you get that?" Mrs. Tucker asked from the master bedroom, where Ruby's parents were trying to figure out how to remove a grape soda stain from the carpet.

Ruby opened the door and saw Nova.

"Oh, Nova. This is a surprise," She said.

"I know that you and Oscar haven't been dating for long, but I need advice."

"Oh?" Ruby asked.

"I think Adrian is going to propose," Nova said.

"Let's go to my room," Ruby said, "it's a little more private in there."

The two girls sat on Ruby's bed.

"You think he's going to propose?"

"I was packing Thursday night since we're moving into the apartment this weekend, and I emptied his drawers and found a box. It had a silver diamond ring in it and engraved inside it said "Insomnia". It didn't exactly take a rocket scientist. I think he's going to pop the question on Sunday when we have our first dinner in the apartment."

"But what is the problem?"

"I love Adrian, but I keep wondering. Maybe getting married at twenty is too young. Are we ready yet? What if I'm expecting something and it ends up not happening? What if we fight, like, all the time? So much uncertainty."

Ruby was almost envious of nova. She's been waiting months for Oscar to ask her to marry him. They both knew they were meant to be so why were they wasting time? And in Ruby's eyes, it was the same way for Nova and Adrian.

"Well, Nova, do you love Adrian?"

"Yes, of course I do!" Nova exclaimed.

"Well, that right there is half the battle."

"You don't get it, Ruby. Your parents are happily married. Mine died when I was six. I don't even know what a happy marriage looks like," Nova said. Ruby studied her friend. She was clearly in distress.

"Nova, it's ok. Alright? Your feelings are completely valid." Ruby said, reaching out to pat the other girl's shoulder.

"Look, my parents fought sometimes. Especially when money was tight or when they voted for a different celebrity for the People's Choice Awards. What set them apart from other couples, though, it that one of them always apologized. If my mom was wrong, she'd accept it, same with my dad. And that, Nova, is ok. Fighting is ok. In fact, some might argue that it's necessary and healthy for a relationship. No one gets along 24/7. You love Adrian. I can tell. He can, too. And if you really don't believe you're ready, just tell Adrian when he asks you. Tell him that you don't think you're ready but willing to revisit the question at a later date."

"What if he gets upset? Or mad?"

"He may get upset. But he's a big boy and he'll get over it. And he won't get mad. He can never be mad at you. I mean, you were his worst enemy and even then he still loved you and he's forgiven you. He won't get mad that you feel like you aren't ready."

Nova still looked unsure.

"Nova, I know you're unsure, and that's normal. But don't overthink it to the point that you feel you are making the wrong decision. Make sure you're ready, but if you decide you're ready, than that's all you need. The rest will fall into place. You and Adrian make a great team, and everyone on the team has been rooting for you guys since the very beginning. I'm confident that you and Adrian will have a happy marriage and successful lives. Maybe a few children, too."

Nova blushed. Ruby laughed.

"If it feels right, then chances are, it is. Don't overthink it, but make sure you're ready. Don't self-sabotage. You and Adrian have something special, Nova. I don't want to tell you what to do, because that's a decision only you can make. But from what I see, you and Adrian are a true power-couple if I've ever seen one." Ruby said.

Nova and Ruby were silent for a few minutes.

"I think I am ready. Twenty may be young, but I know Adrian is the one. Thank you, Ruby." Nova said, hugging her.

"Maybe Adrian will give Oscar the kick he needs to propose to me. He better soon, or I'll propose to him." Ruby said. At that, Nova laughed.

This is the friendship content I need. So I made another one.

"Adrian!" Oscar exclaimed, bursting into his friend's apartment.

Adrian had proposed to Nova a week ago. That weekend, they had announced it to the rest of the team.

"What's going on?" Adrian asked, putting the book he was reading down.

"Is Nova home?" Oscar asked.

"No, she's having a game night with Evie and Leroy." Adrian replied.

"Good! Ruby's been acting weird lately." Oscar said, sitting across from Adrian on the recliner.

"How so?" Adrian asked.

"Well, I asked her to move in with me a few days ago, shortly after you and Nova announced your engagement."

"She said no?" Adrian asked, surprised.

"No, she said yes. But I think she's mad at me." Oscar said. "And I don't know why. I thought she wanted to live with me."

"That's really weird," Adrian said. "All the signs seem to be pointing that she does want to move in with you."

"So you see why I'm confused!" Oscar said.

"Well, Oscar, if you're really unsure, why not ask Ruby? She always tells you what's wrong if you ask."

"I don't want to ask, because it might make her madder. I asked Danna, too. She said I was being stupid and need to figure it out on my own. But I don't know how to figure things out!"

"Well, Oscar, I don't know how to help you. Yeah, she's acting strange, but I don't know why. Have you done anything that might make her mad lately?"

"Well, I ordered pizza on Friday and didn't invite her over. Maybe that's it."

"That's the only logical reason. Although it doesn't seem like Ruby to throw a fit over pizza."

"It wasn't even Ruby's favorite pizza. I just didn't feel like making dinner so I ordered a cheap pizza for myself." Oscar said.

"Nova once got mad at me for visiting the pet shelter by myself. What she doesn't know is that I'm going to get her a cat soon." Adrian said. "You better not tell anyone."

"Well, considering that the only Ruby has said to me in the past week are yes, good morning, no, and good night, I think you're good." Oscar sighed.

"I don't know, man. I still think you should ask her what's wrong. That way you can identify the mistake and make sure you don't make it again."

"You and Nova are engaged!" Oscar said.

"Yes, Oscar, that's quite obvious…"

"How do you two resolve fights?"

"We usually like to talk it out. Nova's not too good about talking about her feelings, so sometimes it takes me a bit to coax it out of her, but once she tells me how she's feeling and what I did that made her angry, we talk about it and one of us usually ends up apologizing." Adrian said.

"SO you're saying you think I should talk to her?"

"Yeah, Oscar. That seems like the best thing to do, especially since you don't know what you did to make her angry." Adrian replied.

"I'm just worried. She always seems like she's in a good mood, so to have the tables turn like this… It's just weird."

'Did you talk to Mrs. Tucker?" Adrian asked.

"No, but I talked to her grandmother. She said that Ruby hasn't said anything about me to her lately." Oscar replied.

"Well, man, I think the only thing to do, the only logical thing to do, is have a talk with her. Tonight." Adrian said. "Unless… Oscar, do you think Ruby is jealous of Nova?"

"Well, I don't know. But it would make a lot more sense than her getting mad at me over pizza." Oscar said. "Oh! Danna's right! I'm such an idiot!"

Just then, the door opened.

"Hey, Adrian. Evie wanted to spend the night," Nova said, ushering her little sister into their shared apartment.

"Oh, hey, Oscar," Nova said. "I thought I saw your car outside."

"Hey, Nova," Oscar replied. "Have you talked to Ruby lately?"

"Yeah. Just the other day, actually. We had lunch with Danna."

"Has she mentioned being mad at me?"

"Yeah, she's upset." Nova replied.

Oscar and Adrian looked at her.

"Care to elaborate?" Oscar said after a few seconds.

"She's glad that you finally asked her to move in with you, but she's kind of frustrated that you haven't proposed yet." Nova replied.

"You were right," Oscar said to Adrian. "We thought that maybe she was upset that I ordered pizza without her."

"Oh come on, Oscar. Ruby is not that petty." Nova said.

"Well, thanks, Nova. I think I need to talk to her." Oscar said, leaving the house.

Oscar came home to see that Ruby had moved most of her boxes into his apartment.

She was sitting at the dining room table fiddling with something.

Oscar couldn't see it because it was on her lap, under the table.

"Hey, Ruby," Oscar said.

"We need to talk," Ruby said.

"Oh. Ok. I think so, too." Oscar said, sitting across from her.

"I thought that maybe me sulking around for a week would urge you to ask me what's wrong, but that didn't work. I'm glad you asked me to move in. I'm so happy. But I think we're ready to get married," Ruby said.

And in a second, she was kneeling down next to Oscar.

"It's taking you too long to ask. So, Oscar Silva, will you marry me?" Ruby asked.

Oscar felt like his heart stopped. The love of his life is asking him to marry her? This mean that there is no possible way that Oscar could mess up asking her.

"Yes, Ruby. Of course. I love you!" Oscar said.

With that, she gave Oscar the ring box, and he slid a diamond ring on her finger.

The couple kissed.

"Honestly, Ruby, I'm relieved you asked. There were a million ways I could have screwed up our engagement night."

"No matter what, Oscar, I would still love you." Ruby said.

I thought some wholesome friendship content was needed, with a little dash of romance.

This was inspired by an idea from MEE on .

_Or, idk, Nova asks Ruby for boy advice (because that's where she'd least expect it). I'm not sure, you're doing great though! Keep it up! _

I think this one was cute. I am a big fan of women getting stuff done, so I said to myself "Well, why doesn't Ruby propose?" And so I ran with it. I know Oscar would probably stall and overthink it, anyway.

So I hope you guys enjoy this! I did work very hard on it.

Until next time, keep reading!


	30. Girl Power (Slight Supernova Spoilers)

Hi, everyone. This one-shot is one I am very proud of. I think it's fun and it was fun to write. But, it's not one of my favorites, for once.

I am a big advocate in equality among all genders (not just men and women, but non-binary, transgender, etc), but this one-shot is about our Renegades girls taking control. I am not in any way making women seem stronger than men, nor am I ignoring the many other gender identities there are besides men and women. This is just meant to be fun and empowering.

So please enjoy!

Takes place shortly after Supernova. Slight spoilers.

"I can't believe Oscar and Adrian both called in sick," Danna said.

"Adrian's been watching this old show from 2018 called She-Ra and The Princesses of Power. He finished it last night and claims that he is too emotionally fragile to come in." Nova explained.

"Well, Oscar ate some sushi yesterday at dinner and it didn't sit well with him. He got food poisoning. He was up all night throwing up." Ruby said. "So I guess it's just us girls this time."

The girls were supposed to be doing night watch.

Ever since everyone got powers, there's been a spike in burglaries and minor crimes due to people using new powers to steal stuff and do minor crimes (I know the ending of Supernova implied that villains were no longer a problem, but that doesn't mean minor crimes weren't still being carried out. I mean, Evie was going around stealing broaches).

"Night watch is so boring," Ruby groaned. They stood on the roof of Renegades Headquarters.

"Well, lets make it fun. Think of it, how often do we get to work with just us girls?" Danna asked.

"Once in a great blue moon," Nova answered.

"Right!" Danna exclaimed.

The girls were silent.

"Seen any good movies lately?" Ruby asked.

"That new action movie is pretty good," Danna said.

"I liked that one scary one." Nova replied.

"I thought that action one was weak. No gore whatsoever."

"You like the gory action movies. I do not," Danna replied.

Ruby's phone rang.

"Crap!" She exclaimed. "I forgot to put it on mute."

She answered it.

"Hello?" She asked. "Oscar, I told you to call your mom if you needed anything. I'm at work."

Ruby sighed. "No, Oscar, I have not seen your Steven Universe box collection…"

"I told you to stream it like a normal person!"

"Check in the closet…"

"I can't! I'm not home!"

"Oscar, call me when there is a real emergency."

Ruby sighed and hung up.

"Oscar likes to watch this really old TV show from 2013 when he's sick. The problem is he put it away from the last time he got sick and now he can't remember where he put it." Ruby said, putting her phone on silent.

The three women heard their wristbands beep.

"There was a suspicious sighting by the bank," Danna said, reading the alert. "They couldn't make out the criminals, though."

"Let's go. The bank isn't that far," Ruby said.

The women ran to the bank, not even winded, even though the bank was several blocks away.

Nova stood by the entrance. Dann used her swarm to look around the bank, looking for the suspicious figures.

Ruby stood on the roof, ready to back up Nova if need be.

The walkie-talkies Nova and Ruby carried crackled to life as Danna spoke.

"I saw what I think is the Grim Reaper. That means their little girlfriend isn't too far away." Danna said.

The Grim Reaper was a criminal who could transform into a figure made entirely out of black smoke, thus the name Grim Reaper. It was useful when trying to get into locked buildings because like smoke, they could fit into small cracks, like under the door and seemingly invisible cracks too small to be seen by the naked eye. The Grim Reaper was a fan of theatrics, and they threw a fit when they misgendered them in the newspaper. The Grim Reaper was non-binary with the pronouns of they/them, and they made sure everyone in Gatlon knew it.

They had a girlfriend and she doubled as a partner in crime.

She had a gem on her forehead that could disable any security system in Gatlon (She was inspired by a crystal gem, but unlike Pearl, she is bad). Her alias is Error, due to the error codes that the security cameras and security systems have on their monitors when she activates her gem.

"This is bad," Ruby said to herself. The only team to ever stop the Grim Reaper and Error were Scorpion's team, and they couldn't even restrain them, they just managed to stop them.

"What's the plan?" Nova asked.

"I'll man the back door. With Error around, we need to have both doors accounted for."

"But what about the Grim Reaper?" Ruby asked.

"Well, even if they did manage to get in, they couldn't escape, because they'd have to be in their human form to hold the money." Nova said.

Ruby noticed that the air on her right turned darker.

She looked at it.

She gasped.

"The Grim Reaper." She said. "I've never seen you in real life before."

She turned her walkie-talkie on.

"Guys, I'm face to face with the grim reaper!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Damn it!" Danna shouted. "We could have really used Oscar or Adrian right now. Nova and I need to stay at the doors. Grim Reaper is using themselves as a distraction so me or Nova would move from the doors, allowing Error to get in."

The Grim Reaper materialized.

"Oh. how smart," They cooed (Ok, Grim Reaper gives me a Double Trouble vibe, no just because they're both non-binary but also because Double Trouble loves the drama and theatrics, and so does the Grim Reaper, so if you have seen She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, imagine Double Trouble's voice). "Butterfly and Rainbows over there was able to figure out my plan. Ah, no matter. I'll just defeat you so badly that she'll have no choice but to intervene."

"Not on my watch," Ruby growled. She grabbed a dagger and her favorite grappling hook from her wound and began to fight.

Nova and Danna wanted so badly to help Ruby, or at least watch the fight to make sure she was alright, but they both knew that they needed to stay at the doors to prevent Error from getting into the bank.

They heard Ruby's brave feats, and knew that if she was badly hurt, and if one of them needed to intervene, Ruby would yell or something.

"Um, Nova, yeah, Error is standing right in front of me." Danna said through the walkie-talkie. "I'm going to fight her. Make sure you stay at the door in case the Grim Reaper decides to transform again and use the unguarded door as a chance to get in."

"Got it," Nova said, and she vaguely heard grunts as Danna and Error began to fight.

Back on the roof, Ruby tried so hard to trap the Grim Reaper, but every time she swiped at them or tried to tie them up with her grappling hook, they just kept turning into smoke.

"This isn't fair!" Ruby screamed.

"Oh, is wittle Ruby frustrated? Wanna throw a temper tantrum?" They mocked as Ruby tied them up again, and they escaped using their power.

As the materialized form of the Grim Reaper walked in circles around her, she took a minute to study the wind.

It was a little windy, but not much, but Ruby did notice that the wind was a mild inconvenience for the Grim Reaper, and they took a tad longer to reform due to the mild dispersing. Ruby knew what she needed to do. She needed to think outside the box.

Ruby opened her water bottle and dumped out the water.

She just had to make sure she timed this right, while also not letting the Grim Reaper know what she was doing. They materialized right beside her to taunt her some more.

She narrowed her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to wipe that smirk off their face.

It was night, so she couldn't see their face, but she knew that they were smirking.

She didn't know when the wind would blow, so it was difficult, but she heard the trees rustling. She opened the water bottle and held it out. Lucky for her, it had a galaxy pattern and the grim reaper didn't seem to see it on account of the dark background of the night sky. Then, she used her dagger, and just as she suspected, they turned into the black smoke.

The wind blew them into her water bottle, and she closed it tight.

"Nova, I got the Grim Reaper!" She exclaimed.

Nova immediately leapt on the roof, and they went to the back to help Danna.

Due to Error's powers not being combat related, she was still skilled, but it made her significantly easier to defeat.

Ruby and Nova leapt off the roof and tackled her. Danna then took Ruby's place and Ruby tied her up using her grappling hook.

As Ruby, Danna, and Nova walked backed to headquarters, Ruby happily swinging the water bottle and Nova holding Error over her shoulder while Error screamed… words at them, Danna said "See? We didn't need the men."

To all my lady readers, I hope you enjoyed this and it made you feel empowered.

I will not be making a similar one for the boys, because one, the odds of Ruby, Danna, and Ruby all not coming are even lower and even less believable/realistic than Oscar and Adrian calling off on the same day, and two, the women are literally more than half of their team.

I know that women are oppressed, and with the things going on in the US, let's just say it's really hard being a woman in the US right now, politics aside, it's always been hard, but it's getting to be even harder.

So Ladies, stay strong! Be like Nova, Ruby, and Danna and let the government know that they cannot control us!

This turned out longer than I thought it would, so I'm going to end this author's note now so I can lay down.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed.


	31. Telling The Friends (Nodrian, Spoilers)

**_Supernova Spoilers_**

**_Pregnant Nova Continuation_**

Nova was nervous. Adrian's family knew, and so did Leroy. Evie knew. Most of their close family members did. But Adrian and Nova decided to wait to tell Ruby, Oscar, and Danna.

Nova and Adrian had asked Kennedy and Oliver when they told their friends and they said that they broke the news shortly before Kennedy would start showing. The only reason Kennedy and Oliver knew was so Nova and Adrian could go to them for advice.

To Adrian and Nova's dismay, while she was only about 21 weeks, and most women start to show at 22 to 24 weeks, Nova was already starting to show.

Her and Adrian decided to be surprised, so only the doctor knows what's going on, but Nova figured that maybe her baby was just big. That's a thing, right?

So they knew it was now or never.

Nova was wearing baggy clothes, to make it less obvious. She noticed that Kennedy was doing that in her early stages.

They walked into the restaurant and immediately saw Danna, Ruby, and Oscar.

Unfortunately, Danna's girlfriend, Olivia, couldn't make it.

Olivia was a wedding planner, and Danna actually met her because Nova and Adrian hired her to plan their wedding. But Olivia had a cake tasting to go to.

Nova and Adrian sat down. Nova was across from Ruby, and Adrian was across from Oscar.

Poor Danna was the fifth wheel.

But she was used to it by now.

They made small talk, and Ruby started talking about Sterling's latest dating adventure. He's not doing very well with women, apparently.

Then, after the dinner, but before desert, Nova and Adrian broke the news.

"We have something to tell you guys," Adrian said.

"You're getting divorced?!" Oscar asked.

"What? No! We've only been married for a year." Nova said.

"Well, Kim Kardashian's first marriage was shorter than that even."

"Oscar, that was like, one hundred years ago." Ruby pointed out.

"I know a lot about pre-Battle of Gatlon celebrities." Oscar stated.

"No. Actually. Adrian and I are..." Nova took a deep breath. "We're expecting a baby."

"Oh. how awkward," Ruby said.

She and Oscar looked at each other. "We don't want to steal your thunder, but we're having a baby, too." She said.

"That's not stealing our thunder! That's great news! Oscar and I can panic together!"

"And we can navigate pregnancy together!" Nova said, her nervousness being replaced with excitement.

"I'm pregnant, too!" Danna exclaimed

The whole table stopped and stared.

"Really? I thought you liked girls?" Adrian said.

'Is there something you need to tell Olivia?" Oscar asked.

"No, I'm not pregnant. I just didn't want to be left out," Danna replied.

"Wait a minute, you only got married a month and half ago, not long after quarantine was lifted, and it takes some time to find out if you're pregnant." Nova said. "I didn't take a test until my symptoms showed up, which took two months."

"So that means..." Adrian started.

"You probably conceived the baby out of wedlock," Nova finished.

"Maybe," Ruby replied.

"Yes," Oscar said at the same time.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Nova said.

"No, but you know how old-fashioned my grandma is. She'd freak out," Ruby said, even though people have been having babies out of wedlock since, well, forever. It was no longer a big deal in Gatlon and hasn't been for a hundred years. Some people, though, still treated it as a taboo. Ruby's grandmother was one of them.

"She's gonna find out eventually," Nova said.

"We're hoping that she won't figure it out like you did. She's not very good at math."

"Well, congratulations, either way," Nova said.

"Right back at you!" Ruby exclaimed.

"I can babysit for you guys whenever you need. It will be practice for when I decide to have kids," Danna said.

"I already talked to Kennedy and Oliver. I'll be babysitting their kid, too. Maybe I should just give up being a renegade and open my own daycare. Maybe make up a fun Monarch themed name. What about Monarch's Monkeys?"

"Monkeys?" Adrian asked.

"That name is a bit misleading. They might think it's a zoo. Or a monkey daycare." Ruby said.

"The heck is a monkey daycare? That's not a thing." Danna replied.

Nova knew a thing or two about the black market.

"You'd be surprised," She said.

Adrian looked at her like he wanted to ask a question.

He decided against it.

"Ok, no monkeys. And no daycare. Being a renegade is too fun." Danna said. "But I will watch your kids."

Nova felt the air around her get colder, and looked around.

She spotted Frostbitch.

"Frostbitch," Nova muttered.

"Where?" Ruby asked, looking around. She spotted the woman.

Genissa Clark never returned to the renegades after the second battle.

Instead, she had the half-baked idea to start her own organization, called "The Vigilantes". Nova was pretty sure it was a cult. Gargoyle and Aftershock, who both got their original powers back, too, were the second-in-command there. She had about fifty members. The members were mindless sheep who decided the Renegades weren't good enough or thought the Renegades had too much power.

But they must be stupid. Anyone who follows Genissa Clark must have major problems.

Genissa sat at a table by herself. Nova thought that was weird, until she noticed Magnitude, or Alice, in her civilian form, nearby, having dinner with her latest girlfriend.

Alice and Genissa had history. Back when they were both young teenagers, Alice and Genissa dated. Both were openly lesbian, and since at that time, many of the other gay renegades weren't out or were still exploring their sexualities, Alice and Genissa found some kind of chemistry between each other.

Nova loved Alice. Alice was badass, cool, and had a really cool power. But she seriously questioned Alice's choice to ever start a relationship with Genissa.

Anyway, the relationship didn't end well. Alice finally realized that Genissa was cold-hearted and crazy, and promptly broke up with her.

But Genissa didn't see it that way. She believed Alice still belonged with her and was very possessive and jealous. She didn't like the fact that she couldn't have Alice, and if she couldn't have Alice, no one could.

"Oh no," Adrian muttered. "She's going to ruin Alice's date."

Genissa was looking at the pair, waiting for a good time to intervene.

"I'm gonna do something stupid," Oscar announced.

Oscar winked at Adrian, and both men stood up.

"You think it's ok to steal my thunder?" Adrian yelled.

"Oh, great skies," Nova muttered. Adrian and Oscar were going to create a scene to distract everyone so Genissa couldn't ruin the date.

"Nova announces she's pregnant, and so you had to! Just to spite me! I bet Ruby isn't even pregnant!"

"How dare you!" Oscar yelled, glancing to the side, where Alice and her girlfriend were staring at the two.

The whole restaurant was watching.

Nova hung her head in shame, Ruby was calmly continuing to eat, and Danna was trying not to laugh.

"Ruby is pregnant! And in a month, when she starts to show, I'll be able to prove it!"

"Sirs," A waitress said. 'Can I ask..."

"But you didn't have to steal my spotlight like that!" Adrian yelled.

Just to reiterate, Adrian wasn't mad, and neither was Oscar. This was all for Alice.

Ruby got up when she noticed that Genissa was quietly laughing.

"You always have the spotlight, Mr. Golden Boy! You're a team leader, for crying out loud! And your power sucks!"

Nova watched Ruby, who was walking towards Alice's table.

Alice didn't notice, she was too invested in the fight.

*A Couple Minutes Before, Ruby's POV*

Genissa was a bitch. Ruby wasn't about t watch her ruin an innocent girl's date with Alice.

Ruby texted Oscar._ I have a plan. You and Adrian need to provide a distraction. _

He looked at his phone and him and Adrian, who had a strong bromance, managed to have a conversation with just their eyes.

"I have a plan," Oscar announced.

Adrian and Oscar stood up and started to scream at each other.

Ruby wanted to finish er fries, so she ate her remaining fries, and when she decided that everyone was invested enough in Oscar and Adrian's "fight", she got up.

She noticed Nova watching her.

She made her way to Alice's table. Alice didn't notice, but Alice's date did. She stopped at their table.

Alice was now looking at Ruby.

She knelt down and whispered something to the woman.

Alice looked at Genissa, shock and anger on her face.

Alice's date rolled her eyes, almost like they have had this happen before.

And they probably had. After the second battle, Genissa kind of... snapped.

Ruby came back to the table.

"Bro, I am so sorry," Oscar said immediately.

"Me too, bro." Adrian said.

"I didn't mean it. I'm sure Ruby is super pregnant."

"I didn't mean it, either. Your power doesn't suck."

The two men hugged each other.

Alice and her date got up to leave. As Alice passed Genissa's table, she threw her drink on Genissa and walked out.

"I would like one outing where something super weird doesn't happen. Is that too much to ask?" Danna asked.

"With us? Yes," Nova answered.

"Well, we're both pregnant. Great. I'm tired. Let's go home," Ruby said.

"Good idea. Watching that exhausted me," Nova said.

The gang walked out of the establishment, confused customers watching as they walked out the door.

**I'm gonna be completely honest with you, I didn't really know where to go with this, which is why I added that part with Genissa.**

**I just wanted to get this chapter out to you guys, and I wanted it to be more than the title suggests.**

**I know it was completely random and I basically got the idea to include Genissa (I just really wanted an excuse to call her Frostbitch), and I ran with it.**

**So I apologize if it sucks.**


	32. Delivery (Nodrian, Spoilers)

_So I wrote a one-shot I loved before this and when I started to write it, I realized that I would be spoiling my own story, so I had to publish this one first. I think you'll like it. _

_*This chapter contains spoilers* _

_*Takes Place After What to Expect When You're Expecting Parts 1 and 2* _

Because her belly was currently the size of a baby hippo (an exaggeration, of course), Nova was working full-time in the Artifacts department.

It wasn't the same without Callum.

Tina (Snapshot) was still there, of course, but not Callum.

Nova was mostly doing paperwork, as the thought of making a pregnant woman lift a finger might as well be equal to murder in Snapshot's eyes.

She insisted that she could do more, But Snapshot made her stay seated and not do any sorting or heavy lifting in case there was a dangerous object in one of the boxes.

Genissa came in the room.

"What are you doing here, Frostbitch?" Nova's hormones were not about to let her go easy on Genissa.

She's been insufferable since she got her powers back. She was trying to make her own organization that was basically the Renegades but led by a psychopath. Maybe a cult is a better word for it.

Nova wondered why she was still allowed through the doors.

"Just bringing back a weapon I rented. I made an improved one," Genissa said.

"This is one of a kind. It can't be made again or improved," Nova said.

"I guess that must be what an untalented person might think." Genissa snapped.

Nova rolled her eyes.

"I still can't believe Adrian knocked you up." Genissa laughed.

"I don't like that language, Genissa. He didn't "knock me up", he got me pregnant." Nova said.

The phrase "knocked up" always had negative implications, but Nova was happy she was pregnant. She wanted to be a mother.

Genissa was about to walk out.

"Hey," She paused.

"What?" Nova asked, already exhausted by seeing Genissa.

"Have you seen Magnitude lately?" Genissa asked.

Nova looked up from the paper.

"I'm sorry, Genissa. I haven't," Nova replied.

"Well, if you do, could you tell her that I'm sorry?" Genissa asked.

"You guys broke up when you were teenagers. You're in your twenties now," Nova said.

"I know. And I still miss her." Genissa said.

Nova hated Genissa. She hated Genissa with every fiber of her being, in fact, Nova started the trend of calling her Frostbitch. But she almost felt sorry for her.

"I'm sorry, Genissa, but that's something you'll have to tell her yourself." Nova replied.

Genissa looked down and hurried out of the department.

"Genissa was always a strange one. Seemed more bad to me than good," Tina said.

"She is. But under all that cold selfishness, there's a tiny heart and a shred of humanity."

"That's something Callum would have said," Tina said with a grin.

"Tina, is it my fault?"

"What?"

"Is his death my fault?" Nova asked.

"No, it's not. And it's not Evie's, either. You didn't kill him, did you?"

"No, but I'm the one who got the helmet and helped the anarchists."

"Humans love assigning blame. Pointing fingers, declaring who they feel is guilty. And I've seen that one of the worst perpetrators is themselves. People love blaming themselves, for many reasons, and it's almost always not where the blame belongs. You didn't kill Callum. Evie didn't kill Callum, Phobia killed Callum."

Nova looked down at her pregnant belly.

Then, she felt a certain wetness.

Her eyes widened.

"Tina, I think my water broke."

She heard Tina squeal, and the rest was kind of a blur. She remembered getting into Tina's car and Tina driving to the hospital while she called Adrian.

"Adrian, my water broke."

"What?!" Adrian asked.

"OSCAR! HER WATER BROKE! WHAT DO I DO?!"

"HOW WOULD I KNOW? RUBY HASN'T GONE INTO LABOR YET!"

"IDIOTS!" A very pregnant Ruby exclaimed. "GET INTO THE CAR AND MEET HER THERE!"

Obviously, Danna being the only one not panicking or filled to the brim with baby hormones, volunteered to drive.

Oscar sat in the front, and Ruby sat in the back with Adrian, making him do breathing exercises.

Then, they arrived at the hospital. Adrian and Danna ran inside while Oscar helped Ruby waddle to the entrance.

"It's gonna take a while. The entrance is far away," Ruby said.

"That's ok. We'll miss all the boring stuff and hopefully the baby will already be born by the time we get there."

(I don't know about you, but the hospital in my hometown is HUGE and the parking lot is also very very huge. My mom works there and I once brought her purse when she left it at home and it took me like, ten, maybe fifteen, minutes just to get to the entrance.)

"Everhart. Nova Everhart. Where is she?" Adrian asked to the lady at the front desk.

She stared at him and then typed in the name.

"Floor 3, room 16," She stated.

Adrian went running, Danna close behind.

Adrian almost ran up the stairs, but Danna convinced him to slow down enough to use the elevator.

Three flights of stairs? She wasn't even going to make her swarm form do that much work.

Once the elevator announced, "Floor 3", Adrian booked it.

"Adr-" Danna started.

Then, she sighed and followed him.

"NOVA!" He screamed.

Two nurses paused, angrily looking at him.

"Sir, there are babies nearby."

"Right, sorry."

Oscar and Ruby were halfway across the parking lot.

"Maybe you should go ahead, Oscar," Ruby said.

"No way. What if you fell?"

"I'm sure I won't..."

She tripped and Oscar caught her.

"You're sure you won't what, Ruby?"

She rolled her eyes and continued clutching his arm.

"We're getting there." Oscar said encouragingly.

Adrian searched and found Nova's room.

"Who are you?" The nurse asked.

"Husband," Adrian said.

"Adrian? Is that you?" Nova asked.

The nurse let him in.

"You?" She asked Danna.

"A friend." Danna replied.

"Please wait in the waiting room." The nurse said.

Danna huffed, but obliged.

Adrian entered the room, not really knowing what to expect.

What he did not expect to see was a doctor looking at his wife's nether regions.

Nova was calmly texting someone, probably Leroy.

"How bad is the pain, Mrs. Everhart?"

"It's Mrs. Artino-Everhart," Nova corrected.

The doctor rolled his eyes.

"How bad is the pain, Mrs. _Artino-_Everhart?"

"Mmmm... Probably a five."

"And how far apart are..."

Nova arched her back.

"Contractions?"He finished.

"Like, ten minutes apart?" She estimated.

"Are you asking me?"He asked.

"I don't know! You're the doctor here!"She yelled.

"Your wife is one of my more difficult patients," The doctor said to Adrian as he exited the room.

"That's Nova for you," Adrian said.

"Where's the usual gynecologist?" Adrian asked.

"It's her day off," Nova replied. "I don't trust this new guy; he doesn't know anything about my pregnancy so far."

Nova arched her back and groaned.

"These contractions are cramps on steroids," Nova complained.

The doctor came back into the room.

"I just got your notes. Looks like you're having twins, correct?"

"Yes."

"Gender is a surprise, right?"

Nova nodded again.

"You didn't find out you were having twins until the second ultrasound."

"Everything is correct, doctor," Nova said.

"Ok, I'm just making sure," The doctor said.

"I still can't believe we're having twins."

"Identical twins," Nova corrected.

The doctors believed that the egg had split after the first ultrasound and that's why the first one showed only one entity.

Nova arched her back again.

She had tubes protruding from her stomach and Adrian realized that they were keeping track of the heart rate for both babies.

"A couple more steps, Ruby," Oscar said

"Oh my gosh!" A nurse exclaimed. "Do you need a wheelchair?!"

"You mean that was an option this entire time?!" Oscar complained.

"Please," Ruby said. "It took us twenty minutes just to get this far."

The nurse set up a wheelchair for Ruby.

Oscar got Nova's floor and room number and pushed the the crowd.

"BEEP BEEP PREGNANT LADY COMING THROUGH!"

Oscar didn't think that the fact that Ruby wasn't in labor wasn't important.

The crowd parted like the Red Sea as he pushed Ruby towards the elevator,

Adrian looked at the heart rates of his children on awe.

Then, one started dropping.

Beeping sounds emitted from the monitors.

A nurse rushed in with a clipboard.

"Oh no," She said, running out.

"What's happening?" Nova asked.

"I don't know," Adrian said.

The doctor rushed in.

"We're preparing you for an emergency C-section, Mrs. Everhart," He said.

This time, Nova didn't correct him.

"We made it!" Oscar exclaimed as the elevator to floor 3 opened up.

Oscar pushed Ruby out.

"Room... eighteen, right?" He asked.

"No, room nineteen." Ruby replied.

"No, it wasn't room nineteen." Oscar said.

"Was it room sixteen?" Ruby asked.

"No, doesn't sound right. Room seventeen?" Oscar offered.

"No, I don't think so." Ruby answered.

"Room fifteen?" Oscar asked.

"It was definitely a teen," Ruby said.

"Room thirteen?"

"That sounds right..."

"Or we could ask Danna," Danna said, standing up from her seat. "They stuck me out here cause I'm not family."

"Oh, so we won't be allowed in, either?"

She shook her head.

"It's room sixteen. I saw some doctors rushing in and out and I got worried. I asked a nurse but she said she wasn't at liberty to discuss it," Danna explained.

Oscar and Ruby exchanged worried glances.

Oscar spotted Adrian's dads and Max coming towards them.

"What did we miss?" Simon asked.

"No one's telling us anything, but the way the doctors are running in and out of the room doesn't look good," Danna said.

"Well, seeing as we're the grandpas, we might be able to get more information," Hugh said, going to the front desk.

As Hugh talked to the nurse, Leroy and Evie joined the small circle that Danna, Ruby, and Oscar started.

"It doesn't look good," Is all Danna said. She was tired of explaining.

Hugh came back. Simon was wringing his hands.

"The good news is they told me," He said.

"The bad news is that Nova is getting an emergency C-section. Something about fetal distress."

*****************************************************8

As the nurse handed Adrian some scrubs and protective gear, he thought to himself.

He had never seen Nova cry. Nova Artino-Everhart was not a crier.

But as the nurse told Nova that one of the fetus's heart rates was dangerously low, and the doctor noted that one of the babies might not make it, Nova burst into tears.

It was the first time he saw his wife cry.

Even now, as he got dressed in the bathroom in her hospital room, he heard her sobs.

Danna paced.

She was a pacer.

She paced back and forth.

Ruby nervously hummed as she rubbed her stomach and Oscar dug into a bag of chips. He was a stress-eater.

Simon and Hugh whispered to each other. Max repeatedly kept checking his pocket, like he was making sure something was still there.

Leroy looked like he was fine, but they all knew he was freaking out inside. Nova was like a daughter to him. He nervously tapped the arm of his chair.

Evie was fidgeting with one of the shiny things she kept in her pocket. After the whole battle fiasco and finding out she was Nova's sister, she changed her name from Maggie to Evie. She was still getting used to it, but felt it was a better fit.

She lost her parents and was terrified that the c-section was going to go wrong and claim the life of her only living family member left.

After what seemed like hours of _tap tap tap_ from Leroy and several repeats of nervous _Swanee River_ humming, the doctor came out.

Danna stopped pacing and they all formed another circle.

"Nova is fine, and so are the babies," He said.

"Wait... Babies? Plural?"

"Yes... Mrs. Everhart was carrying twins. Did she not tell you?" The doctor asked.

The group shook their heads. Evie smiled. She was the only one who knew.

"You may go in, two at a time." The doctor said.

Danna grabbed Evie's arm and walked in.

"So I guess grandpas are not important," Hugh said.

Evie looked at her sister, whose eyes were closed.

Adrian was looking at his two babies.

"Gender?" Danna asked.

"Both are girls," Adrian said.

Nova opened her eyes. "And they're not identical. The doctor thinks that during the first ultrasound, one was hiding behind the other."

"Yeah. I guess one of them was always smaller than the other," Adrian said, stroking the forehead of the smaller one.

Nova closed her eyes again.

"It was so bad," She whispered. "I was so scared I was going to lose one."

"She cried," Adrian said.

"I cried," Nova agreed.

Evie peered at her nieces.

They looked so... normal.

They were like regular babies but were the daughters of two of the strongest renegades out there.

"The doctor says it's tome to let us in," Ruby said, out of the wheelchair, and carrying a large bouquet. Oscar had another bouquet.

Danna and Evie left.

"These are from the Former Renegades Fan Club," Oscar said, putting the two bouquets down.

The Renegades Fan Club was no longer the Renegades Fan Club, because most of the members gained useful powers and became renegades, achieving their life-long dreams, but they still got together sometimes to do nice things for other Renegades.

Some Renegades took to calling them "The Hufflepuffs of Gatlon".

"What are the genders?" Ruby asked.

"Both girls."

"Why didn't you tell us you were getting two for the price of one?" Oscar asked.

"We thought it would be a fun surprise. And for a minute there, it seemed like we might actually only have gotten one. But we got a fighter and she wasn't planning on leaving us. She's a little beaten up, but she and her sister are just fine." Nova said.

"Well, Hugh and Simon are patiently waiting, and kind of mad that Danna and Evie went in first, and then even more mad that we called dibs on second." Oscar said.

They headed out and Simon and Hugh rushed in.

"Girls," Adrian said, before they could ask.

"You didn't tell your own dads that they were twins?"

"We wanted it to be a surprise," Adrian said.

"What are you going to name them?" Simon asked, letting the larger baby hold his pointer finger.

"Georgia and Tala," Nova said.

"Tala is the smaller one, since the original Tala, my mom, was short." Nova said

Hugh gasped.

"That's beautiful," He said. "A tribute to your mothers."

"If your mother was alive, Adrian, today would surely be the happiest day of her life, aside from the day you were born." Simon said.

They left, and the two leftovers, Leroy and Max, came in.

"They are girls," Nova said. Max looked at his nieces.

"I thought they might want a toy," Max said, taking Turbo out of his pocket. "He doesn't bite anymore."

Adrian took the little toy. He stared at it.

Then, he stood up and hugged his little brother.

"He'll go on the dresser and guard them," Adrian said.

Leroy couldn't touch the babies, due to the whole poison leaking from his pores thing, but he smiled.

"What are their names?" He asked.

"The smaller one is Tala, and the larger one is Georgia," Nova said.

"After your mothers?" Leroy asked.

Nova nodded.

About a day later, Nova was discharged from the hospital with Georgia. The day after, Tala was discharged. She was kept around for an extra day for monitoring, since she was still a little sickly.

It was one-thirty in the morning, and Nova couldn't sleep. She quietly crept into the babies' shared nursery and sat on the rocking chair.

She thanked every God she could think of that both girls had survived. She didn't carry both of them for nine months just to have one die on her.

Nova Artino-Everhart was not a crier.

But just this once, she let herself shed a few tears of joy.

**_Sorry for being a little inactive, but rest assured I intend to finish this story. I always get so frustrated when I see that writers on this website just, like, abandon their stories halfway through. Like why? I will not be one of those writers. I'm finishing this story. It probably helps that they are one-shots and I can finish it whenever I want. That day is not today. I still have a few more chapters from wattpad to post here, and a few ideas that I haven't published anywhere yet. _**

**_I hope you enjoy. I have never been pregnant, much less pregnant with twins (and I don't plan on getting knocked up any time soon) so I'm not really sure how fetal distress goes or how delivering twins is, and I did minimal research. The most I know is that most twin pregnancies are c-sections. _**

**_If I get it wrong, then I am sorry. If you know a thing or two and want to tell me, then, by all means, do it. I won't be offended. _**

**_Also, I wanted to give a shoutout to my readers in New York and Italy (if I have any), I should have done this a long time ago. Stay safe. I don't want any of my readers getting hurt. I love you guys. I know that New York and Italy are both facing a worse crisis than the rest of the United States, and the Midwesterners (I am one of these Midwesterners, Ope.) _**

**_Anyway, I'm getting off topic. _**

**_Until my next update, _**

**_Keep reading! _**


	33. Update (Not a Chapter, but please read)

Hey, guys.

I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm taking a few weeks off. No, I am not discontinuing the story. I am going to see it through. But a lot has been going on for me. Not only do we have this pandemic, but I have some personal issues going on in my life.

My partner and I just broke up after a year and a half, I am currently taking a summer class, I am starting an internship later this month, and most importantly, my depression decided to make an appearance.

I'm really not in the right mental state to be updating my stories and writing new chapters right now.

I hope to update soon, but right now, I need to take care of myself first, and that means taking a brief hiatus. I know some hiatuses lead to discontinued stories, but I promise that it not the case for me. I will be back. I just need some time to gather myself and find the strength to continue to do the things I enjoy, such as writing fanfiction.

Once I am past this hellish part of my life, I will update, but right now, I just need to focus on getting through it.

I will delete this part once it is no longer relevant.

Anyway, I love you all. Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I will update when I can.


	34. Nova Makes a Mistake (No Spoilers)

See, Livvyanne, I told you I wasn't going to forget about this completely.

Sorry for my absence. The previous chapter explains it.

This chapter does not contain Spoilers

I got this idea after reading another fanfiction from a different fandom about the main characters cheating, so don't come at me!

I will write one for Adrian as well, but not for Osby, because I honestly can't imagine Oscar doing something like this to Ruby, even if it's a mistake. Osby is too sacred to touch.

Takes place before Nova and Adrian are married but live in the same house/apartment/ whatever you want them to live in/can even be a yurt if you want.

Nova is over 21.

This chapter is not bad enough to be rated mature, but there are implications of mature themes. Please exercise caution when reading this one.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Nova didn't always drink responsibly. One night, Adrian was gone, at some Renegades Convention. Nova wasn't invited. She thought it was rude. She was a good renegade, and her swordsmanship beat no one. How dare they invite Adrian but not Nova, who may actually be more powerful than Adrian?

Why, the thought made her blood boil!

She muttered angrily into her glass of jack and coke.

"Maybe it's time you stop," The bartender said, gently pushing a glass of water Nova's way. She smiled at Nova, encouraging her to drink the water instead.

"Don't teeeeeell me whaaat to d-do," Nova scoffed.

"Honey, your words are slurring," The bartender said. She tried to pry Nova's jack and coke out of her hands.

"Mine!" Nova screamed. The bartender was still concerned, but she left Nova alone and went to tend to other customers.

"Long night?" A man asked, sitting beside Nova.

"You don't knnnooow the halfff of it," Nova slurred.

"I'm sure I do," The man said, downing a shot.

"My girlfriend won't stop nagging me. Pick up some tampons, Jasper, I need chocolate. Go get some flour. It never stops."

Nova didn't really notice how none of those requests seemed hard or troublesome.

She wasn't in a right state of mind to realize that this man will soon be single not just because he cheated, but because he's a dick.

"I'm Jasper, by the way," He said, fingers grazing Nova's arm.

"Nova," Nova said. "Oh, Nova, trust me. I know you," Jasper said, touching her thighs. She didn't stop him.

Before Nova knew it, she ended up at her place, with Jasper tagging along.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Nova didn't have clothes on. But that didn't make sense. She didn't sleep naked unless Adrian was with her. And she was pretty sure Adrian hadn't come back yet.

She calmly tried to remember last night's events despite her throbbing head.

She looked to the side,

"Ahhh!" Nova screamed.

There was a strange man in her bed.

And he wasn't even attractive.

The man woke up.

"Wha?" he asked.

No, Nova remembered. He was a ten. A God among mortals.

But this man... His eyebrows were a little too bushy. His teeth were crooked to an extreme, and she wasn't sure if the man knew what shampoo was.

"Oh, God, oh, God. Great skies, this will break Adrian's heart," Nova said, getting up. She quickly got dressed, and then threw Jasper's clothes at him, demanding that he leave her house and never talk to her again.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Adrian came home that night.

Nova made dinner. She was never a great cook but living with Adrian and having weekly dinners with Simon and Hugh has made her better at the culinary arts.

She had thought about it all day, and she had decided to tell Adrian. She owed it to him. He had a right to know, even if he decided that he never wanted to see Nova again.

"Hi, Adrian," Nova said as he stepped in.

His smile reached his eyes.

"I missed you so much, my sweet Nova," Adrian said, giving her a hug and nuzzling his face in her neck.

Nova's heart shattered.

"I made dinner," Nova said. "Your favorite."

"Gnocchi?" Adrian asked. With Nova being Italian and Filipino, she had a cookbook from her father's side, as well as a cookbook from her mother's side, but Adrian seemed to love the recipes from her father's Italian side more, and once Nova got better at cooking, she loved to indulge him.

"That's right," Nova said.

Adrian ran straight to the dining room.

He sat eagerly at the table as Nova brought the pan over.

She and Adrian divvied up the food and he ate fast. Nova merely picked at her food, the guilt eating her up.

"Nova, what's wrong?" Adrian asked, finally slowing down.

"Adrian, do you love me?" She asked. "No matter what?"

"Nova... of course I do? Why would you even ask that?"

"Because I did something awful!" Nova cried.

'What is it?" Adrian asked. "Whatever it is, we can get through it..."

"I don't know if you'll be able to forgive me for this."

Adrian looked at his girlfriend's face. Nova rarely cried, so, no, she wasn't crying now, but Adrian still recognized the mixture of remorse, guilt, and disgust with herself on her face.

"Nova..."

"I slept with someone else," She said.

Adrian took a second to process her words.

His fork fell from his grip and clattered on his plate. Nova still didn't cry, but he could tell she was holding the tears in.

"You... You cheated on me, Nova? Is that what your saying?" Adrian asked, feeling tears prick at his eyes.

Nova slowly nodded.

"Why? How? Why would you... Why?" Adrian asked. "Am I not good enough, Nova? Do you not love me anymore? Is it something I did?"

"Adrian, no, no. It was all me. I made a stupid mistake. I regret it, but you are not at fault in any of this. And if you kick me out, and never want to see me again, well, I understand," Nova said.

"I need some air," Adrian said, walking out of the house and onto the back balcony. He leaned on the railing, looking down. He was furious. Him and Nova had been through so much, and now this?

He tried to stay calm. Not to scream and kick the wall and just let it out.

So he sat down and clenched his fists. He shook his head and promised to hurt the man who had seduced Nova.

He didn't know what to do, so he called Oscar.

Oscar picked up after the fifth ring.

'I was eating chips and I had to finish them fast or else Ruby would steal them all." He explained.

"Oscar," Adrian's voice cracked.

"Adrian? What's wrong? You sound really sad." Oscar said. Adrian still heard crunching, so he knew Oscar was still eating.

"Nova... She... Nova slept with someone. Someone that's not me." Adrian said.

The crunching stopped.

"Adrian, I'm gonna put you on speaker phone. I think Ruby needs to know, too."

Adrian heard the phone shift and Ruby saying "What? What happened?" to Oscar.

"Adrian, please repeat what you said."

Adrian saw Nova not so subtly looking at Adrian through the balcony window.

"Nova had intercourse with someone else," Adrian said, turning away.

"What?" Ruby snapped. "I will kill her. I am going to hurt her... Where is Danna! Phone Danna in!"

"Danna will only make him feel worse. I'm sure you're not helping, Rubes," Oscar said.

"Oscar, Adrian is a sweet little cinnamon roll and I'm not about to let Nova hurt him like that," Ruby argued.

Oscar was right. This is making Adrian feel worse.

Oscar sighed, taking Adrian off speaker.

"I'm sorry, Adrian. I thought Ruby would help but... Ah, never mind. How does Nova feel about it?" Oscar asked.

"She regrets it. I know that much," Adrian said.

"Well, at least she feels remorse! That's more than what Voldemort felt in his entire life."

"Great, so Nova's not a psychopath like wizard Hitler. Glad we got that out of the way," Adrian said, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"It's really crappy, what she did, Adrian. I can't believe she would do this. I thought she loved you." Oscar said. "How do you feel about it all?"

"I feel a lot of things, Oscar. Anger. Rage. I want to punch her and the guy who seduced her. I want to kick the wall. I want to scream at the top of my lungs. But I'm also so sad. I want to cry. I want to hide under the covers and just cry. But I also feel love. I still love her and I appreciate that she didn't try to hide it. I think that says a lot about her."

Adrian turned around and saw Nova sitting on the couch, her face in her hands.

"And she looks like she feels bad about it. And she is disgusted with herself. And I know that she wouldn't feel that way if she didn't love me."

Oscar exhaled. "Adrian, I can't tell you what to do. And I know what your next question will be and I'm telling you right now that the only person to make that decision is you. Only you can decide what to do."

Adrian took a breath and then let it out.

"You're right, Oscar. Thank you," Adrian said,

He walked back in. Nova was muttering something to herself.

"You absolute piece of crap. How could you do that to him? You are a despicable human being..."

Adrian grabbed her arm and moved it down, sitting next to her.

"I'm not leaving you."

She let out a breath.

"But you are on very thin ice," Adrian added.

"Yes... Yes, I completely... Yes, I understand." Nova said, still shocked that he was staying.

"You'll be sleeping on the couch for a while. And it's going to take a long time to gain my trust back." Adrian said.

Nova nodded.

"And don't ever do something like this again."

"Never again," Nova stated. "I'm so... I hate myself, Adrian. And I am so sorry."

"You should be," Adrian said.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

That night, they slept in separate beds. Adrian was still upset, but after Nova explained that she was drunk, he felt a tiny bit better. Nova slept on the couch, and still felt like a piece of crap, but she was slowly starting to accept the fact that something in their relationship had changed, and it was her fault.

But they both knew that even after a major screw-up like this, they'd still be alright.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Forget Nova. I'm the piece of crap here! I can't believe I wrote this.

What is wrong with me?

Anyway, I want to personally apologize to Adrian. You did not deserve this.

And Nova, I am also sorry for making you the bad guy once again.

Also I love you, Adrian and Nova. This is just fantasy. Not canon in any way, shape, or form. I'm not entitled to do anything with the Renegades Universe besides writing fan fiction.

Anyway, I feel like I mention that I minored in psychology. I like to mention it, because it reminds me that I only have a year of college left. But it's also very relevant when you're a bookworm like me. You start to analyze characters and see them in a different way. You'll also see humans in general in a different way.

And I'm not even sure if my textbook mentioned this or if my mom did (she also minored in psychology), or both, but when you say "It's ok" when someone says sorry, it's not really the right way. You're basically saying "Ah, it's ok that you screwed up. Feel free to do it again!" You're supposed to say "I forgive you" to know that they are forgiven, but that they should not do it again. If you don't forgive them, well, argue? Say nothing? I don't really care. I always choose to forgive so I wouldn't know. But that is why Adrian didn't say "It's okay" or "I forgive you" and instead said "You should be". I know it might have come off as harsh and out of Adrian's character, but how did you expect him to react?

Just a little public service announcement. Don't feel like you had to read it. If you skipped, I understand.

Okay, I'll shut up now.

Until next time,

Keep reading!


	35. Adrian Makes a Mistake (Spoilers)

Hey, everyone!

So I'm still super depressed for no reason whatsoever.

Depression is a bitch, guys.

Anyway, I finally got some motivation to write.

However, this is my Adrian cheats chapter. I told you all it was coming.

Idk. I'm sad so it seemed fitting.

Yeah, you're all going to hate me after this.

This is not connected to Nova Makes a Mistake.

Minor Supernova Spoilers

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Adrian wasn't doing well.

Nova was gone. She and Evie went to Italy to see the town their ancestors were from.

Adrian did well on the first few days. He got a lot of reading done. He and Oscar had a whole Steven Universe and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power marathon, and he browsed facebook and read more BuzzFeed articles than anyone.

But by the fourth day, he missed Nova.

He was lying in bed, watching a video of her laughing that he had taken a couple of months ago. He missed the sound of her voice.

Adrian realized that he did not do well when Nova was gone.

He should have asked to come on her trip with her.

All Adrian had now was his empty house.

He should have gotten a pet. Probably a cat. Nova likes those. His fish has long since died. RIP, Georgia.

Adrian groaned. He ordered a pizza and went to the living room, turning the TV on.

He watched the news. The local animal shelter was having a Puppy Festival, focused on finding homes for dogs.

Adrian always liked dogs.

He sighed, and saw that it would still be thirty minutes since the pizza came.

He went to the kitchen and opened the liquor cabinet, getting one of the stronger drinks.

By the time the delivery girl came, Adrian was drunk.

She knocked on the door and Adrian opened it.

He recognized her. She was part of the former Renegades Fan Club. He had felt sorry for her, because after she had gotten powers, she still couldn't make it as a renegade.

Her power was that she could change the temperature around her slightly.

Great for delivering pizza, but just a mild inconvenience for crime-doers.

Adrian knew she was bitter, as most of her club members got to be renegades.

"Adrian?" She asked.

He took the pizza.

"Um, Jenna, right?" He asked. The woman nodded.

"So, ah, where's Nova?"

"She in Italy. I miss her," Adrian replied.

"I'm sure you do," The woman said.

"Hey, my shift is over. Do you want some company?" She asked.

Adrian knew he should say no.

But he was drunk. He barely realized that he had said "Sure."

Jenna smiled and let herself in. Adrian closed the door behind her.

"I saw you at trials a couple of months ago," Adrian said, taking a slice.

He offered her one and she took it.

"Yeah." She frowned. "Bummed that I didn't get in. Everyone else did. Kennedy, Diana, Louis. Even Stacy is going to try out. She can make plants grow out of thin air. She's definitely going to get accepted. It's not fair. My power is completely useless unless it's an extremely hot day or an extremely cold day."

"Yeah. I'm sorry," Adrian said.

"It's not your fault," Jenna muttered, taking a bite.

Adrian offered her a drink, and she thought, why the hell not?

Adrian and Jenna both got really drunk.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Adrian awoke to a woman screaming.

"Wha-?" A groggy Adrian asked.

"Oh my stars. Oh my stars…. I'm so sorry," It was Jenna. "Why did I let myself get drunk enough to sleep with a taken man?"

Adrian looked down and noticed that he wasn't wearing anything.

The woman was looking around the room, gathering her clothes.

She threw them on and left in a hurry.

Oh, great skies. How was he going to tell Nova? She gets back tomorrow!

He got dressed and made some coffee and sat at the table.

He heard the door open and saw his girlfriend.

"Nova? You're early," Adrian said.

'Yeah. Thought I'd surprise you," Nova said,

She smiled and Adrian felt his heart crumble.

He got up and hugged her and kissed her cheek.

She looked in his eyes.

"Hey, is something wrong?" She asked, noticing that he was unusually quiet.

The coffee machine beeped, alerting that it was done.

"Hold that thought, love," Adrian said. He poured out a cup for Nova, and a cup for him.

Nova sat down, her luggage by the door.

"It's good to be home. I hoe you didn't miss me too much," Nova said.

Adrian didn't even smile.

"Adrian, what's wrong? I thought you'd be happier to see me! Even Leroy was happier to see me and Evie when I dropped Evie off!"

(I have this headcanon that Leroy raises Evie (a.k.a Maggie) after she finds out that Nova is her sister.)

"Of course I'm happy to see you, Nova. But…. I have to tell you something."

"What is it?" Nova asked.

"Last night, I really missed you and I got super drunk…"

"Oh, god, where did you puke, Adrian? Was it in bed? I just washed the sheets!"

"No, Nova. What I did was much worse." Adrian relied.

"What?" Nova asked. She wasn't sure what he could do that was worse than puking on the bed.

"I slept with someone else," He said.

Nova was almost relieved. No puke. Great!

But then the gravity of the situation hit her.

Adrian cheated on her.

"You…. You cheated?" Nova asked. Adrian was already crying and tears were pricking her eyes. "How… Why?"

"I didn't mean to. I was drunk. And I know that's no excuse but it certainly didn't help. I missed you and I needed comfort." Adrian explained.

Nova got up and walked to their room, locking herself in.

Adrian knew she needed to be alone right now.

He just sat at the table, sobbing.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Nova looked in the mirror. She was letting the tears flow freely now.

She briefly wondered who she should call? Ruby, Danna, or both?

She settled on both. She dialed Ruby first and then phoned Danna in.

She heard Ruby telling a barking dog to shush while Danna groggily said "Hello?"

"Danna… did you _just _wake up?" Ruby asked.

"Yes."

"Its eleven in the morning!"

"Your point being?"

"Well, I guess nothing. I'm sorry, Nova. My chihuahua will not stop barking." Ruby apologized.

"What's up?" Danna asked.

Nova took a breath.

"You know how I was in Italy the last few days?"

"Oh, yeah! How did that go?" Ruby asked.

"Not now, Ruby," Nova said. "Anyway, I got home and Adrian told me…. He cheated on me."

"Mmmm. He's dead," Danna said, hanging up.

"Wait, what?" Nova asked. "Danna?"

"That IDIOT!" Ruby screamed. "Nova, are you… Of course you're not ok. Do you need to talk? I'm pretty sure Danna's on her way to beat Adrian up but I can come over to talk."

"Please," Nova said.

"Alright. On my way," Ruby said.

"OSCAR, WATCH THE DOG!" Nova heard Ruby yell.

"YOU MEAN THE DEMON?" Oscar asked.

"YEP!" Ruby replied.

"Ok, sweetie. I'm on my way," Ruby said.

Nova knew Ruby felt sorry for her. She only called people sweetie when she felt bad for them.

Nova hung up and sat on the stool in front of the small vanity.

She looked at herself.

She was pretty, right? But if she was pretty, why would Adrian cheat on her?

He did say it was a mistake.

Nova's head hurt. Even if he was drunk, he should have known better.

She wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to forgive him.

A couple minutes passed and Nova heard someone slam the front door open.

She emerged from the bedroom.

She saw Danna.

Adrian was sitting on the couch. Danna began screaming at him.

She started to punch him. Adrian just took it.

_I deserve this._ Adrian thought.

"Danna! Stop!" Nova exclaimed.

"No, Nova. I deserve this," Adrian said.

"No, you don't. Danna, stop," Nova said, grabbing her hand. When she wouldn't stop, Nova used her powers and made Danna go to sleep.

Adrian had a black eye and a busted lip, but he seemed to be ok.

He hoisted Danna up and put her on the couch so she wouldn't be in a harmful sleeping position.

A few minutes later, Ruby arrived.

"Adrian, can you go to our room. Ruby and I need to talk." Nova said.

"Of course," Adrian said.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Nova and Ruby sat at the table.

'So, what happened?"

Nova was still unsure, as she ran off before she could get the whole story.

"Well, I don't know it all. But Adrian really missed me, so he got drunk with another girl and then one thing led to another." Nova replied.

"It doesn't make sense. He missed you so he cheated on you?"

Nova shrugged.

"Has Oscar even done anything really bad?" Nova asked.

Ruby wanted to lie and say yes, of course. But Oscar had never cheated on her and he was always doing things for her. He even took baking lessons from her mom. They had never almost broken up. She knew that if she had said yes, Nova would ask for details.

"No, Oscar hasn't. Yet," Ruby replied. "Look, Nova. It's up to you but I do think you should talk to Adrian again before deciding what to do. Talking to him might make you feel better. Of course, only do it when you feel like you can. And if you want to hit him, I mean, I think that's justifiable."

"I'm think I'm going to stay with Evie and Leroy for a while. It will clear my head and give me a place to stay while I work up the nerve to talk to Adrian."

"Ok. But if you ever need a plan B, my door is always open." Ruby said.

Nova hugged her.

They explained to Adrian what Nova planned to do and took Danna (who had just woken up) to her home.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

*A Week Later*

Nova knocked on the door.

She finally felt like she could talk to Adrian.

Adrian opened the door.

He didn't look so good. He had bags under his eyes and looked like he hadn't showered for a week. His shirt had stains that were both old and new.

He also hadn't shaved.

"Adrian…" Nova said.

"I know." He replied, letting her in.

She sat on the couch. He sat next to her.

"Adrian, I'm not going to lie. I'm really angry at you. I can't believe you would do this to me. Even if it was an accident, it was a pretty big one."

Adrian nodded.

"If you kick me out. I completely understand."

"Tell me the whole story." Nova stated.

Adrian's eyes widened. Why did she want to know?

So he recounted the story. Of him drinking and ordering pizza and the girl from the old fan club….

Nova stayed blank faced the whole time.

Once Adrian finished, Nova creased her eyebrows.

"Wow. That… Yeah, that was a bad idea."

"If I could take it all back, I would."

"Look, Adrian. This past week without you, even knowing what you did, it was Hell. I missed you, too. In Italy, I missed you too, even with facetime and calls and texts. And I looked forward to coming home and sharing my adventures with you. And then I left and stayed with Leroy and Evie, and I even spent a night at Ruby's… and the whole time, I missed you. I want to stay with you, Adrian. But just know that it will be a long time before I can trust you again and I still don't forgive you. But I love you. And I think we should stay together."

Adrian sobbed in relief.

"Thank you, Nova. I will never do anything like that again. And I will make it my life mission to make it up to you."

Nova nodded.

The couple hugged.

"No go take a shower. It smells like self-pity in here."

Adrian and Nova both let out a small laugh.

And despite his mistake, Adrian knew he and Nova would be alright. They always are.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

So that turned out way longer than I expected/intended.

Let me get one thing straight.

I have a very big and negative opinion on cheaters. I think it's one of the worst things you can do in a relationship. I would never take back a cheater, no matter how much they beg.

BUT

I could not bring myself to break up Nodrian.

So I settled for them taking some time off. Plus, Nova still didn't forgive him at the end so it's ok.

I feel kind of bad, because Nova's was much shorter and Adrian forgave her in the end but to be fair, I feel like Adrian would be a little more forgiving, while Nova would not, given her personality.

Anyway, depression brings depressive writing, so here you go.

I do want to let you all know that I am feeling a bit better, but I still don't know if I feel well enough to go back to weekly updates.

Also, I have a few more one-shot ideas but idk if I want to do them.

So I may include more chapters before my big finale. If you have any opinions, go ahead and comment. If enough people want it, I will continue it for a few more chapters and then I'll finish it.


	36. Osby Wedding (No Spoilers)

Nova and Danna fawned over Ruby as she stuffed herself into her wedding dress.

"It fit a few months ago when we got it tailored." (Remember in _Telling the Friends_. Ruby was pregnant before she married. Also, there is no shame in that).

"I know. It's so weird," Ruby said (Ruby doesn't know she's pregnant at this time).

With the help of Ruby and Danna, they managed to zip up the dress. It was snug, but Ruby decided it was fine. She wasn't that uncomfortable.

Ruby's mom came into the room, sniffling, and sobbing. When she saw how beautiful her daughter was, she began sobbing harder.

"Mom, it's ok." Ruby said.

"I'm so happy for you. My baby is getting married," Mrs. Tucker said between sobs. "And you're leaving me with Jade and Sterling."

Ruby chuckled at this; they could be a handful sometimes.

"You have dad and Grandma," Ruby offered. Her mother scoffed at this.

"The officiary wanted me to tell you it was almost time. Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Ruby replied.

"Wait a minute," Nova said. "Ruby has something old, her earrings. She has something new, the dress, and something blue, the flowers. But she doesn't have something borrowed."

"Well, I wasn't really going to follow that anyway…" Ruby started.

"No, no, Nova's right," Mrs. Tucker said, "I did that for my wedding and I think it's cute."

Mrs. Tucker took her necklace off. The necklace was just a chain with a silver heart pendant at the bottom, but it wasn't too bulky and it didn't drag attention away from her dress.

"My God," Danna said. "It's like you outfit is complete."

"Yeah, the necklace really made a difference," Nova agreed.

Ruby walked out. She stayed behind the wall separating the wedding area from the entrance (I know it doesn't make sense but I'm tired so use your imagination).

The flower girl, one of Ruby's little cousins, would go out first, then, the ring bearer, Jade.

Then, Adrian and Nova, Danna and Scorpio (who was actually good friends with Oscar), and then Mrs. Tucker, Sterling, and Ruby's grandmother.

And then, lastly, Ruby and her father.

The music started and they began to walk.

Once Ruby's dad saw that the trio were about to sit down and the music started to the wedding march, he took Ruby's arm and led her down the aisle.

Oscar's eyes lit up as he watched the love of his life walk down the aisle. Ruby's father gave her away, giving her a hug and a peck on the cheek before he joined Mrs. Tucker on the first row, who was sobbing. He patted her back, spilling a few tears himself.

Oscar's mom sat on the other side of the area, a tissue clutched in her hand, and a few tears running down her face.

Ruby handed her bouquet of blue flowers to Nova, who stood behind her with Danna. Adrian and Scorpio stood behind Oscar.

Ruby and Oscar held hands.

The officiator said his piece, but Oscar and Ruby stared at each other, barely hearing them.

"Ruby Tucker, do you take Oscar Silva to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do," Ruby said, tears in her eyes.

"And Oscar Silva, do you take Ruby Tucker to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do," Oscar said, also with tears.

"By the power vested in me through the city of Gatlon, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss," The officiator stated.

Ruby gave Oscar a soft, chaste kiss.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Mister and Missus Silva!" The officiator announced.

The people cheered.

The wedding goers went outside, ready to greet Oscar and Ruby with bubbles as they ran out of the building.

Before they ran out, Ruby and Oscar shared one more kiss, this time, in private.

"I love you, Oscar," Ruby whispered.

"And I love you, Ruby."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

I love weddings.

Anyway, this is one of the ideas I had that I decided I needed to start working on so I can finally end this story.

I thought about making this kind of a funny one, where everything that can go wrong does go on, but I love Osby and I didn't want to do that. I will probably write a Nodrian wedding one-shot, too.

My sister got married a little earlier this year, so I do admit that I got a little emotional when writing this. It was so beautiful, despite the pandemic. She couldn't invite many people or have a reception, so we're doing that next summer.

You guys probably don't care.

Anyway, thanks for reading!


End file.
